See You Again
by EmeraldandAmethyst
Summary: Haruka Kujo has been living in England for three months since the showdown with Homurabi and he's missing his friends back in Japan. There's one person in particular who he's missing the most. (Kou/Haruka, slight Shirogane/Akira, Yaoi/Shounen-ai, and Shota. Rated M for more mature content in future chapters.)
1. Chapter 1

This is my first time submitting a story, so I'm a little nervous. It's also only the second fanfic I've written. But, I hope anyone who sees this likes my story. ^-^ I'm planning to write two more chapters for this story and I'll write more fanfics about Kou and Haruka later on. Okay, disclaimer!

Haruka: "EmeraldandAmethyst" doesn't own Monochrome Factor or any of the characters. They all belong to their rightful owner(s).

It had been three months since Haruka moved to England to study and everything had been going fairly well. Before Haruka left, he said goodbye to his friends and got a few of their phone numbers, so he could keep in touch with them. He also apologized over and over again for what he did, but it still didn't seem like enough to make up for it. Haruka was surprised that they actually wanted to stay friends with him. He was very worried about how Kou would treat him after the incident; he imagined that Kou would hate him. Haruka was alone with Kou in his bedroom saying his goodbye and apologizing when Kou said that he would never hate him and that he looks forward to the next time they meet. Haruka was genuinely happy at Kou's response and couldn't help but start tearing up. He hugged Kou and started crying, to which Kou hugged him back and told him, "It's okay."

"It's okay." Who would have thought that those two words could make Haruka feel so loved? Haruka was just happy that Kou was so understanding. But, the boy wasn't expecting what Kou did next. He remembered sobbing in Kou's chest, saying "I'm sorry" when said man lifted his chin up and pressed his lips against Haruka's. Haruka was frozen in shock for a few seconds and before he knew it, he was kissing him back. Kou pulled away from the kiss and ruffled Haruka's hair and told him, "Be careful, Haru. I'll be waiting for you when you come back." With that, he kissed Haruka's forehead and left the room.

Haruka blushed remembering that time and brought his fingers up to his lips. That was his first kiss and he's constantly thinking about it. It's true that Haruka had a crush on Kou, but he didn't think the older man liked him the same way. Kou always referred to Haruka as his little brother and asked Haruka to call him "Onii-chan," so he figured that he only thought of him as his little brother. Besides, Kou's twenty five and he's eleven-not even a teenager. It's practically illegal, but Haruka couldn't help but like Kou. He's the one that made Haruka's life more entertaining and made him have a good time.

Akira and the others did that, too, but it's different with Kou. Haruka sighed and leaned back in his chair at the desk in his bedroom. "Akira, Kengo, Aya...Kou...I want to see you," Haruka said and started wondering what happened to Shirogane. He was there when Shirogane disappeared, but he was too upset and crying in his butler's arms to understand what happened to him. Hopefully Shirogane's okay where ever he is. Haruka got up from his desk and walked over to his window overlooking the neighborhood he lived in.

England is a nice place, but Haruka misses being with his friends in Japan. "I really want to see them again..." There was a knock at his bedroom door. "Come in," Haruka answered. One of the maids came in and was holding a letter. "A letter came for you, Haruka-sama." Haruka walked up to her and grabbed the letter. "Thank you. Is there anything else?" She nodded and said, "I was told to tell you that you're going to visit Japan next week." Haruka's eyes widened and fought off the huge smile trying to creep on his face. "Japan? Thank you very much for telling me, you may be excused." The woman bowed and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Haruka sat down on the edge of his bed and kept thinking about the words "You're going to visit Japan." He was so happy that he's going to get the chance to see his friends again. The boy assumed that it was his butler who arranged the trip; he'll have to thank him later. Haruka glanced at the letter he was still holding and read the name of the sender. "'Kou.' Kou sent me a letter?" He blushed slightly and opened the envelope, taking the letter out and unfolding it. He started reading the letter and couldn't help but smile this time.

_Dear Haru,_

_ Hey, how have you been? I hope things are going great for you in England and you've been studying very hard. Don't study too hard, though. Your mind is already brilliant enough and we don't need you to make Ken look stupider then he is._

Haruka giggled at that and kept reading.

_Hopefully you got this letter after you were told about coming to Japan, otherwise I spoiled the surprise. I'm really looking forward to seeing you and doing all kinds of fun stuff. Maybe we can also do what we did when you said goodbye. ;)_

Haruka blushed bright red and tried to compose himself. /He doesn't mean...t-the kiss, does he? And what is up with that little winky emoticon?/ Even though he was embarrassed, Haruka has wanted to kiss Kou again. The boy decided to read the final bit of the letter.

_Be safe on your way here, Haru. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. We'll see you soon!_

_Love,_

_Onii-chan _

Haruka fell back against the bed, holding the letter against his chest and sighed happily. "Yes. After all this time, I'll see you soon..."

Feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading! Ja Ne for now!


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is chapter two of "See You Again." I tried to make the airport part interesting, but there's a limit to how entertaining I can make an airport and I don't know much about what goes on there/what the areas are called. XD** **Also, I don't know a lot about Japanese bathrooms and I've seen, in a few animes, that their showers are different, so the one little scene I wrote probably isn't accurate. Sorry about that, I'll try to educate myself a little more. One more thing, I just found out about the Pageant of Starlight in Sendai and I wanted to incorporate it in the story. I was planning to make this centered around Christmas time since I'm in a Christmas mood, myself. I don't know much about the Pageant of Starlight, so I didn't give many details about it. I hope it's not too vague and you get the idea, though. Lastly,** **I apologize if any of the characters are OOC and if there's any grammar or spelling errors. I hope you enjoy! ^-^**

**Series: Monochrome Factor**

**Pairings: Kou x Haruka (and some Shirogane x Akira later on)**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy) and Shota. (Meaning a relationship between an older man and a younger boy.) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Monochrome Factor or any of the characters. They all belong to their rightful owner(s). If I did own it, there would have been more Kou x Haruka scenes in the anime and they would have become a couple. ^w^**

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><p>Haruka finished packing the rest of his clothes in his suit case and grabbed the note pad and pen laying on his bed. He carefully read the list of things on the paper and checked off 'pack clothes.' Haruka made sure there was nothing else he forgot to pack for his trip to Japan. He was very excited to get the chance to see his friends again and especially happy, but anxious, to get to see Kou. The boy shook his head, trying to calm himself down. 'It's just Kou. You've spent a lot of time with him when you were living in Japan and there's no reason to get worked up.' Haruka thought and closed his suit case, zipping it up. Actually, there was a reason for him to be nervous about seeing Kou. Despite the older man saying he didn't hate Haruka for what he did before he left for England, the boy still feared that Kou didn't forgive him. 'I wouldn't blame him for hating me. I'll never be able to forget what I did and it will always follow me for the rest of my life.' Haruka sighed and turned around, sitting on the edge of his bed. 'What if Kou isn't happy to see me? What if he regrets what he did the day I left?' Haruka thought back to when Kou kissed him when he was saying goodbye. He blushed faintly and covered his mouth with his hand. No matter how many times he thought of that moment, it still made him blush. Haruka was glad his butler didn't know about their kiss. How would he explain to his butler that he-an eleven year old boy-was kissed by a perverted twenty five year old man? Haruka was pretty sure his butler would pass out if he heard what happened.<p>

He smiled slightly, amused at the thought, and stood up, walking over to his desk. He grabbed a book off his desk that he'd currently been reading. "I should bring something to read for the flight." Haruka said outloud and put the book in a small bag he's bringing as his carry-on. There was a knock at Haruka's bedroom door and he said, "Come in." The maid who informed Haruka of his trip to Japan came in. "Hello, Haruka-sama. I was asked to come and see if you were finished packing." Haruka was a little annoyed that the maids always talked to him so formally. He knew that's how they were supposed to address him, but he didn't feel like he needed maids in the first place and had to be treated like royalty. Yes, he was rich, but the boy just wanted to live a normal life and not be waited on hand-and-foot. Then again, Haruka was pretty much raised that way all his life, so he's used to it and it would probably be weird to have it suddenly disappear. "I'm finished packing. Is it time to go?" The maid nodded her head. "Yes, the car is waiting outside." Haruka looked out the window next to his desk and saw a limo parked outside the front doors of the building. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll be down in a minute." The woman bowed and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Haruka grabbed his carry-on bag and slung it over his shoulder, walking over to his bed. He picked up the suit case off the bed and held it at his left side. Haruka walked to his bedroom door and opened it, stepping just outside of his room. He turned around and slowly observed his bedroom, thinking to himself. 'I've only been living here for three months, but I'm sort of going to miss this room while I'm gone.' Haruka spent most of his time in his room ever since he moved to England. He would study in his room and write in his private journal that mostly consisted of school work notes, dreams he had, writings about wanting to see his friends in Japan, and a lot of stuff about Kou. Haruka smiled contently at the thought of seeing his friends again and shut his bedroom door, heading down the hallway to the stairs.

Once he was downstairs, his butler came up and greeted him. "Hello, Haruka-sama. Are you ready to leave?" Haruka nodded and walked toward the front door. "Oh, let me take that, Haruka-sama." Haruka's butler took his suit case and opened the front door, gesturing for Haruka to go out first. The boy walked outside and down the stairs to his limo. There was the limo driver standing by the passenger door and he bowed to Haruka, then opened the door for him. "Thank you." Haruka said and got into the car. The limo driver took the suit case from Haruka's butler and put it in the trunk. His butler got in the other side of the car and sat next to Haruka, making sure the boy was buckled. "Are you looking forward to visiting Japan, Haruka-sama?" The butler asked. Haruka lit up a bit at that and smiled, saying, "Yes, I'm really happy to get to see everyone again." His butler smiled back. "I know you've been wanting to see your friends, so that's why I arranged this trip." The limo driver got in the front and shut his door, then started the engine and slowly backed up. When the limo started moving, Haruka was startled a little. The boy was still very nervous at knowing he was actually going to see everyone again, but he tried to focus on happier things. "Thanks for arranging this trip for me. I really appreciate it." The butler put his hand on Haruka's shoulder. "You're very welcome." His butler smiled at Haruka again and he smiled back. The limo driver headed onto the freeway to the airport, which would take Haruka to the one place he's excited and scared of to go.

By the time Haruka and his butler were in the airport, went through the security check, and sitting in the waiting area for the boarding of the plane, you could say Haruka was a little more than anxious. His butler noticed that Haruka looked distressed and he asked him what was wrong. Haruka said he was fine, just a little tired and hungry. Which was a very big lie. He wasn't tired at all or hungry. He couldn't even think about eating because he was worried he wouldn't be able to keep it down at this point. His butler had quickly gone to get him a pretzel from a small stand before they had to get on the airplane. Haruka took a deep breath and sighed shakily. 'Everything's going to be okay. Kou sounded really happy to be able to see me again in his letter, so that's a good sign. I hope...' Haruka's butler came back with the pretzel and handed it to him. "Here you go, Haruka-sama. Will this be enough?" Haruka grimaced slightly. "Yes, it's enough. Thanks." He wasn't sure he could even take a bite of his pretzel at the moment. The woman at the desk next to the door to boarding the plane made an announcement saying that it was time for the first class section to board. Haruka really wished at the moment that he wasn't rich and his butler didn't get them first class tickets, so he wouldn't have to get on yet. 'No, don't think of it that way. The sooner I get on, the sooner I'll be in Japan and, hopefully, be over this anxiety.' Haruka thought, as he and his butler walked through the door and down the hallway, getting onto the plane.

The flight wasn't as bad as Haruka expected it to be. It didn't take too long for the plane to take off and Haruka slept for about half of the flight, so he didn't have to be awake for a long period of time. The boy and his butler had just gotten off the plane and were walking to the baggage claim, where Akira and the others were supposed to be waiting for them. Just when Haruka thought his nerves had calmed down, he became anxious when his butler told him that he got a call from Kou and he had said that they were all here, waiting in the baggage claim. "Kou-san told me that your friends are very happy to see you again, Haruka-sama." Haruka felt a little better at those words and cleared his throat. "Should we get going, then?" His butler nodded at him and grabbed their luggage once they had found them in the baggage claim. Haruka insisted on carrying a few bags and started looking around for his friends. He didn't see his friends, but he kept looking around the room curiously. "Haru!" The boy quickly turned around at the sound of his voice being called and saw who he had been wanting to see the most. Kou was standing near the exit doors, waving at him with a smile on his face and wearing his usual outfit—black pants, a black suit jacket with a white shirt that was partly open and his glasses covering his dark indigo eyes.

"Come on over here and give Onii-chan a hug!" The boy wasn't exactly sure why, but he felt tears fill his eyes and he set his bags down, running over to Kou and throwing himself into the older man's arms. Kou stumbled back a bit and was surprised at Haruka's sudden action for a second, but then he hugged him back tightly. Haruka felt his heart flutter and he kept hugging Kou, not wanting to let go. Kou put his hand on the back of Haruka's head, running his fingers through his hair and said, "It's been so long, Haru. I'm so glad to see you again." Haruka couldn't stop the tears from falling down his cheeks and he sniffled against Kou's shirt. Kou pulled back from Haruka and was shocked to see him crying. "Oh, Haru, what's wrong?" Kou asked concerned and leaned down, getting closer to the boy's face, brushing a few of his tears away. "It's just-I'm so happy to see you." Haruka replied, his cheeks flushed, tears rolling down his face, and smiling wider than Kou had ever seen him before. Kou couldn't help but get a smile on his face as well at seeing how happy Haruka was. He pulled the boy back into a hug again and sighed. "I'm so happy to see you, too." Haruka let out a small relieved laugh and clutched onto Kou's shirt. All thoughts of Kou and the others hating him fled Haruka's mind in that moment. "Aww! That is so sweet!" Haruka moved his head slightly to look past Kou's arm and saw Akira, Aya, Kengo, Master, and Shirogane standing by the doors where Kou was standing before. "Kengo, please don't fanboy in public." Akira said and shot a smile at Haruka. "Hey, Haruka. Long time, no see."

Haruka smiled back and pulled away from Kou, walking over to give Akira a hug. Akira hugged the boy back and grabbed his shoulders looking down at him. "I'm glad to see you again, Haruka." Haruka nodded, still smiling. "I am, too." Akira smiled at Haruka again. "Well, I don't want to hog you all to myself." Akira stepped to the side, allowing the unsuspecting Haruka to get glomped by Kengo. "Haruka~! We missed you so much!" Haruka grabbed onto Kengo to keep from falling over from the forceful hug and giggled. "Thanks. I missed all of you, too." Haruka looked at the others—Aya, Master, and Shirogane—who were smiling at him and he returned it back. "It's great to see you again, Haruka-kun." Shirogane said warmly as he glanced at Aya and Akira pulling Kengo off of said boy. "Have you been doing well in England?" Aya asked, looking genuinely curious and happy to see Haruka again. "Yes, I've been doing really well." Haruka responded as he felt Kou wrap an arm over his shoulders. "Like I said in my letter, I hope you're not studying too hard, Haru. Your mind is brilliant enough." Kou winked down at the boy next to him, causing Haruka to blush. Haruka's butler came over to them with Master, who had went to help him carry the suitcases and bags. "I agree with him there." Master put a hand on Haruka's shoulder as he walked by. "It's nice to see you again." Haruka gave a small smile and a nod. "You, too." Kou suddenly snapped his fingers on his hand that wasn't on Haruka's shoulder. "Ah, that's right! We have a lot of fun stuff planned to do with you while you're here, Haru." Haruka looked up at Kou. "You do?" "Of course!" Kou said, pulling the boy closer to his side. "You didn't think we wouldn't do anything while you're visiting, did you?" Kou took one of the rolling suitcases from Haruka's butler and put it on the ground, grabbing the handle. "Is everyone ready to head back to Aki's house?"

Akira quickly looked at Kou. "Huh? When did we ever decide that we'd be going to my house? Why can't we go to Bar Still?" Kou turned his head and smiled at Akira. "Haru needs a place to take a shower off from that long flight and put his bags. The bar isn't the right place for that. Come on, Haru." Kou kept his arm around Haruka's shoulders and started walking with the boy out the doors. "Haruka-sama, please wait!" His butler called and tried to catch up with them, while Akira started yelling at Kou to not do whatever he wants. Haruka couldn't help but giggle and smile to himself. It was just like before he left for England and he was glad to be back with his friends and their, frequently crazy, times together. It honestly didn't matter to him where they went, just as long as he was with everyone that he loved and loved him back.

Once they all arrived at Akira's house, Kou led Haruka inside and asked Ken to take the boy's suitcase. "I'm going to go show Haru where the shower and everything is." Kou was about to take Haruka away when Aya interrupted him. "I don't really trust you to be alone with Haruka-kun in the bathroom." Kou turned his head to look back at Aya and sighed. "Oh, man. You guys think I'm always a pervert." Akira put his hands on hips and looked up at Kou. "That's because you are, Kou-nii." Kou pouted. "You're so mean, Aki!" Haruka smiled a little at seeing Kou act immature and childish. That was one thing Haruka liked about the older man and how it always amused him, even if Kou didn't know it. "Someone should go with Kou-san and Haruka-kun just in case." Aya said, as Shirogane adjusted his black hat. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them." Kou sighed again. "It's so cruel that no one trusts me." Haruka looked up at Kou and said what was on his mind without even thinking. "I trust you." The young boy blurted out. Kou looked down at Haruka, his eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You trust me?" Haruka looked back down, trying to hide his blush. "Of course I trust you, Onii-chan." Kou inhaled and let out a happy, high-pitched cry as he hugged Haruka. "You're so adorable, Haru!" Haruka's blush deepened and he just continued to let Kou squeeze him. "Let go of Haruka-kun, you pervert!" Aya yelled at Kou, clearly angry and worried for Haruka's safety. Kou pulled back from the hug and, without saying anything to the others, grasped Haruka's hand and started pulling him off to the bathroom. "Come on, Haru. Let's get you freshened up."

Haruka allowed Kou to drag him away from his friends and started wondering why Aya got so mad every time Kou touched him or hugged him. Haruka knew that Kou was a pervert, and was so very often, but his motives weren't always bad or lewd. Could it be that Aya secretly likes seeing the flirting between Kou and Haruka, but she keeps trying to fight it off by doing her best to keep the two from doing those things? For a moment, Haruka thought that could be quite possible, but his train of thought stopped when Kou started talking again. "Well, here's the bathroom. Nothing special, really. But, it's just a bathroom, so I guess it doesn't matter too much." Kou chuckled a little and grabbed a towel in a cabinet that was just outside of the bathroom. "Here's your towel." Kou said as hung it on a rod hanging on the wall. "Do you think you have everything else under control?" Kou asked as he turned to face Haruka who was standing in the doorway of the bathroom. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks, Onii-chan." Kou smiled and softly ruffled the boy's hair. "No problem, Haru. I'm going to put your baggage away, but if you need anything, just call for me." Haruka nodded and looked at Kou as he smiled at him before heading back to his friends. Haruka shut the bathroom door and locked it, starting to undress. 'Come to think about it, I don't think I've seen much of Akira's house before. It's pretty nice.' The boy thought to himself as he finished taking off the rest of his clothes and got into the shower.

Haruka wrapped a towel around his waist and used a smaller one he found hanging on the shower rod to dry his hair. 'I feel so much better now. Being on that plane for so long and having to run around at the airport made me feel really gross.' Haruka dryed his hair in the towel a little more and set it down on the sink. He was about to take the towel around his waist off and get dressed when he realized that he forgot to bring a change of clothes in the bathroom. "Oh, no." Haruka groaned. 'I guess I'll have to go get some from my suitcase.' He opened the bathroom door and looked around outside to see if anyone was out there. It wasn't like he was naked; he had a towel around his waist. But to Haru, it was still embarrassing and if he were to run into Kou-well, let's say the boy was a bit more than worried that the older man would decide to be a pervert then. Haruka didn't know where Kou put his luggage, so he took a guess and went to look in the room that was closest to the bathroom. He got close to the room and was able to see inside and he assumed it was Akira's. 'I hope my stuff is in here.' Haruka thought and walked into the room, sighing with relief that his suitcase was sitting on the bed. He walked over to it and zipped open the bag, starting to take out some clothes. Unluckily, or perhaps lucky for the man, Kou suddenly walked into the room carrying another one of Haruka's bags. He froze in his spot and uttered a startled "Oh" as he saw his little Haru standing by the bed, his side facing Kou, wearing nothing but a small white towel around his waist, bare-chested, and his gray hair still partly wet.

Haruka turned around quickly at the sound of someone's voice, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets and blushed madly as he saw Kou standing in the doorway. "K-Kou." Haruka said in shock and suddenly remembered he was half-naked, causing him to blush even more and cover one arm over his chest and the other to grab onto the bottom of his towel. Kou couldn't take his dark eyes off of Haruka. It was bad enough that Kou got a little turned on at seeing Haruka just standing half-naked in front of him, but when he had that embarrassed reaction-trying to cover his chest and putting his arm in between in knees that were slightly bent together-that was also very much like a pose some moe girl in an anime would do, Kou could feel himself starting to blush a little himself. An awkward silence filled the room as Kou kept staring at the blushing and fidgeting Haruka, while the aforementioned boy was at a loss of what to say or do. "S-Sorry, I didn't...mean to walk in while you were about to...change." Kou finally stuttered out, breaking the silence. "Um, i-it's okay." Haruka replied, still standing in a "desu-like" pose. "Could you, uh, maybe-" Haruka didn't finish his sentence, finding it hard to come up with the words to tell Kou to stop staring at him like a creeper and leave. Kou blinked and shook himself out of his daze. "Ah, right! Sorry, I'll let you get dressed." Kou set the bag down on the ground, turned around and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Haruka let out a long sigh he didn't know he was holding in. 'That was so embarrassing. Why did that have to happen on the first day I see him?' Haruka tried to get over what just happened long enough for him to get dressed and try to regain his composure. Outside of the room, Kou was leaning back against the bedroom door where Haruka was changing inside. Kou put a hand over his mouth and couldn't stop thinking about what just happened. 'What the hell is wrong with me? Getting turned on by an eleven year old boy...I never thought this would happen. I mean, seeing Haru half-naked, no shirt on, being able to see what his small bare chest looks like, water still dripping from his damp hair and his body. He looked, dare I say, sexy.' Kou smacked his forehead at calling Haruka sexy. 'No, no! I need to stop with the dirty thoughts. Haru's just a kid. But, I can't help it. I think it's too late change my feelings now...' Kou thought to himself as he slowly walked away from the door and went back with the others to wait for Haruka to come back out.

After Haruka had calmed himself down and reasoned that he couldn't stay in Akira's bedroom for the rest of his life to hide his embarrassment, he walked back out to the living room where everyone else had gotten comfortable. "Ah, Haruka's back!" Kengo said cheerfully as he got up from the couch. "Hey, Haruka. Do you feel more refreshed now?" Akira asked, to which Haruka nodded. "Yeah, I feel a lot better. So, did you say that we're going somewhere?" Kou lit up and came over to the boy, drapping an arm over his shoulders like he did earlier at the airport, acting as if the scene in the room hadn't happened a few minutes ago. "Yes, we are. Since tomorrow is December 12th, we're going to the Sendai Pageant of Starlight. It's a popular event known throughout Japan and the center of the city is covered with pretty lights. Does that sound like fun?" Kou questioned the younger boy next to him with a smile on his face. Haruka smiled back. "It sounds like a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to it." Haruka had never heard of this pageant before, but it sounded like it would be a very fun place to go to. He hadn't been to many popular areas in Japan to begin with, honestly. Haruka likes to read in his spare time, so he had heard about some tourist attractions and famous hot-spots people would go to. "I can't wait to go on the trip!" Kengo chirped. "I'm going to bring my camera with me and get pictures of the beautiful lights." Aya added in. Haruka was glad to see his friends looking happy and he only wished the pageant started today and not tomorrow. Haruka's butler looked over at the boy. "Haruka-sama, are you tired?" He didn't even realize it, but apparently he had yawned and was rubbing at his eye. "Just a little bit." Haruka responded. Kou put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You must be tired from that flight. Well, it's getting late anyway, so we should probably get ready for bed." "Wait, have we figured out sleeping arrangements?" Akira asked, seeming a little opposed to all of them spending the night at his house. "I don't think there's enough room for everyone to spend the night here." Akira finished. "Hmm. You might be right." Kou said, looking around the room they were in. An idea struck Kou, causing him to grin. "I know. What if everyone else spends the night here, but Haru spends the night at my place with me?" Haruka's eyes widened slightly at the thought of him being alone with Kou, just the two of them. He spent the night at Kou's once after he only had known him for a little while, so it's not like he hadn't slept over before. But, because of what happened earlier, Haruka was still embarrassed to be alone with the older man. Not to mention that the boy's feelings for Kou made him anxious, too.

Aya narrowed her eyes at Kou. "Can we trust you to be alone with Haruka-kun all night?" Kou waved his hand dismissively. "Of course you can! We'll have a good time, won't we, Haru?" Kou asked the boy, patting his head. Haruka nodded, still a little occupied with his own thoughts. "I'll make sure he gets enough sleep, don't worry." The pre-teen's butler, however, wasn't too thrilled about the idea. "Haruka-sama, how about I spend the night with you there, as well?" Kou reached over and put a hand on the butler's shoulder. "There's no need for that. I'll take good care of Haru, I promise." Kou said and flashed a brilliant smile at Haruka's butler. Said man still didn't completely trust Kou, but he knew Haruka really looked up to him and he didn't want to make the boy unhappy. Sighing deeply and closing his eyes, Haruka's butler said, "Please make sure to get Haruka-sama to bed and call in the morning when you wake up. Also make sure to call if there's any problems." Kou's smile grew wider and he clasped the butler's hands. "Yes, I will! Thank you!" Kou turned back around to face Haruka. "Why don't you go get some clothes and things you'll need, Haru?" Haruka, suddenly very happy and over his anxiousness, told Kou he'd be right back and went to get some things to bring over.

Once they were walking away from the front door of Akira's house, Kou had his hands shoved in his pants pockets and was beside Haruka. "Haruka-sama, please be safe and have a nice sleep. Call us if you need anything. And don't let that bad person do anything indecent to you." Haruka's butler said. Kou turned halfway back around. "Hey, hey! Who are you calling bad? How cruel!" Kou sniffed, acting overdramatically. Haruka giggled and put his hand up to his mouth. Kou turned his head to the side and looked at the little boy next to him, smiling at his cute giggling. "Come on, Haru." Kou said and wrapped his arm around Haruka, so it was covering his chest. After a little while of driving, Kou and Haruka arrived back at the man's place and Kou went up to unlock the door. Haruka looked around and shivered in the cold air. "This area is a little scary at night." Kou put his hands on the side of Haruka's face. "Don't worry. I won't let any scary monsters hurt you." Kou said with a small chuckle and smiled at Haruka. The boy blushed slightly and let Kou guide him inside. Haruka was a little surprised, but felt a sense of familiarity to see that Kou's apartment looked the same as it did when he last came inside. Kou took off his shoes and gestured around with his hand. "Still pretty much the same, isn't it? I wanted to do a little remodeling and add some new things, but it never happened. At least it's nice enough and not too bad, right?" Haruka took off his shoes as well and walked over to the three purple couches that were close together and surrounding a small coffee table. "I'm glad that it's the same. It feels natural and more comfortable to me." Haruka said as he glanced over at the fish tank against the right wall of the living room and behind one of the couches. "Is that so?" Kou asked, looking at the boy's relaxed face with a small smile on it. "Oh yeah! Are you hungry, Haru? I know we went out and ate something before we went to Aki's house, but if you're still hungry, I could heat up some leftovers from last night. Or, we could share the little sushi plate I bought earlier that I haven't eaten yet." Kou said all this as he walked over to an area with a counter, a sink, a microwave, and a small stove with an oven. "Sorry that I don't have much right now, but we'll be eating a lot of good food tomorrow." Haruka continued walking around the purple couches, as he thought about what he wanted. "Um, the sushi plate sounds fine." Kou gave a thumbs up and winked at Haruka. "Roger!" The man said and opened the sushi plate once he set it on the counter.

Haruka sat down on the couch that was in front of the aquarium and waited for Kou to bring over the sushi. He started wondering why he felt so relaxed and happy when he was with Kou at his place. It felt like he belonged there. Being taken from his thoughts, Kou came over and plopped down next to Haruka on the couch, setting down the sushi plate. "Here you go." Kou said as he handed Haruka a pair of chopsticks and kept the second pair for himself. Kou put his hands together and happily said, "Itadakimasu!" Haruka did the same and both of them started eating the sushi. "You know," Kou stated in between his eating, "this is pretty good for cheap, store-bought sushi." Haruka giggled a little and agreed. "Yeah, it is." Kou made a small alert noise, as he swallowed. "Haru, you have a piece of carrot on your face." Haruka turned his face to Kou. "Eh? I do?" Haruka brought his hand up to get rid of it, but Kou stopped him by grasping his wrist. "I'll get it." Kou told him and leaned in to Haruka's cheek and licked it off. Haruka felt his cheeks heat up and his heartbeat quicken. For some reason, which Haruka wished it hadn't, his mind suddenly wandered to the day when Kou kissed him. Kou licked his lips and glanced back at the boy, whose cheeks were pink. "Haru, what's wrong?" Kou got closer to Haruka and put a hand on his forehead. "Your cheeks look pink, do you have a fever?" Kou asked, curiously. Haruka inhaled a little, trying to stop from blushing even more. "I-I'm fine..." He couldn't take his eyes away from Kou's, which were staring back at him. "Are you sure?" Kou questioned, moving a little closer. Haruka swallowed and worked on keeping his heartbeat steady. "Onii-chan, I've been thinking about something." The boy said and nervously fiddled with the gold earring in his ear. Kou kept his eyes on Haruka, watching him closely. "What have you been thinking about?" Kou asked. Before Haruka could stop himself, he said the one thing that he had been thinking about often. "Why did you kiss me then?" Realizing what he said, Haruka covered his mouth and looked away from Kou's startled expression.

'He just asked why I kissed him?' Kou thought to himself, not expecting Haruka to bring that up. The older man was starting to become more curious. Haruka probably didn't know, but Kou had seen when the boy kept blushing all those times earlier today and he seemed to be a little nervous around him. Did Kou's kiss really affect him this much? Did it make him constantly think about it? Well, he probably should have assumed it would. Kou had more than likely taken Haruka's first kiss. Kou cleared his throat and tried to respond to Haruka's question. "You mean, why did I kiss you the day you left for England?" Kou already knew the answer, but was still trying to find the right words to respond to Haruka's question. Haruka nodded and kept his eyes away from Kou. "Well, um, I kissed you because I thought it was a good time to do it. I knew that you were leaving and I wasn't sure how long it would be until I saw you again. Also, I-" The older man let out an aggravated sigh. He already felt bad enough about having feelings for Haruka and that he wanted to do "things" to him. It didn't help that he felt like he, a twenty five year old man, was practically being forced to confess his love to an eleven year old boy. As Kou was about to say something, Haruka cut in. "Onii-chan, I have to tell you this now before you say anything else or I won't be able to again." The young boy sighed shakily and clutched onto his lap. "I-I'm...in love with you, Kou." Kou could feel shock course through him and he looked over at Haruka, who was staring down at the couch and a heavy blush visible on his cheeks. "You-what did you say? Haru, you...you're in love with me?" Haruka lowered his head more, his gray bangs falling over his eyes. "Yes. I understand that you probably don't feel the same way and that it's illegal for us to be together, so I'm sorry. I just can't help being in love with you." Kou heard Haruka sniffling and assumed that he had started crying.

"You just," Haruka said, doing his best to find a way to make Kou believe that he was okay if he got rejected, "You make me so happy and I love being with you, Onii-chan. I know it can't work between us and you don't like me back, but I just want you to know how I feel." Haruka started rubbing at his eyes when he felt two hands grasp his shoulders tightly, making him look back up. He was surprised when he came face to face with Kou who had a serious look on his face, but also a small smile. "Haru, you shouldn't automatically assume someone's response without hearing it first, you know." The boy blinked, a few tears escaping from his lashes, confused. Kou kept one hand on the boy's right shoulder and moved the other to grasp Haruka's chin with his hand. "Haru...I love you, too." Haruka gasped and his eyes shook with emotion, as he started suddenly crying again; happiness mixed with relief at being able to let go of his worries. Haruka turned himself to face Kou and fell against the man's chest, grabbing onto the front of Kou's shirt with his trembling hands. Kou pulled Haruka closer to his chest and wrapped his arms around the boy, one hand running through his hair. After a minute or two, Kou lifted Haruka's face back up by his chin. "Better now?" Kou asked, a grin on his face. "Yeah." Haruka replied, laughing slightly. His sobbing stopped, but he still had a few tears falling down his cheeks. Kou suddenly had the urge to kiss Haruka and he wasn't going to ignore it. He had waited three months to kiss him again, so he was taking his chance. "Haru, can I kiss you?" Kou asked the boy. Haruka blushed and his eyes widened. "K-kiss me?" Without waiting for his answer, Kou leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Haruka's lips. Haruka made a small, surprised yelp against Kou's mouth, but slowly closed his eyes, shivering, and kissed the older man back. Kou tightened his grip around the boy as he kissed him a little harder, making their lips come closer together. Haruka released the lightest moan into the kiss and clutched onto Kou's shirt again. Since the laws of physics wouldn't allow them to breath through just their noses forever, Kou had to pull back from the kiss, causing a disappointed whine from the young boy in front of him. "You really liked the kiss, huh?" Kou teased. Haruka blushed, yet again, and turned his head away from Kou. "It was okay..." Haruka said to not give Kou the satisfaction of being right. Kou smirked and chuckled, brushing a few strands of hair from Haruka's face.

Changing the subject, Haruka said, "Can we sit here for a little while?" Kou nodded. "Sure." Haruka snuggled on his chest and Kou leaned back on the couch. Kou saw Haruka shut his eyes and he started running his hand gently down his side, tracing invisible patterns on Haruka's shirt. After a few minutes, Kou heard Haruka's soft breathing and looked down to see him asleep. Kou smiled and brushed the back of his hand against the boy's cheek. 'He must be tired from all the traveling and the crying he's done today.' Kou said to himself. The older man slipped one of his hands under Haruka's knees and the other around his back, carefully getting up. He carried Haruka to his bedroom and layed him down on the bed. Kou realized that Haruka was still in his day clothes, so, despite his better judgement, he decided to change the sleeping boy. Kou grabbed one of his large t-shirts and sat down on the bed, starting to remove Haruka's sweater. 'I hope he doesn't wake up and freak out about me changing his clothes.' Kou thought. He didn't need to have a sleepy Haruka pissed at him. Especially after that touching moment they just had, Kou didn't want to ruin the happy mood he was in. Kou got Haruka's sweater off and worked on his blue dress shirt and his vest. The man couldn't help but feel bad about undressing a little boy, but he was also a bit giddy at being able to. 'Maybe Haru will let me undress him when he's awake.' Kou facepalmed at the thought he just had. Leave it to him to be a pervert, no matter the situation. Once Kou had unbuttoned Haruka's dress shirt, he opened it and looked (oggled) at the boy's pale, small chest. 'It looks so soft...' Kou inquired to himself and ghosted his fingertips over Haruka's stomach. Haruka made a small noise in his sleep and fidgeted a little. Was the boy a really light sleeper or could he happen to be super sensitive? Kou was hoping it would be the second one and smacked himself for thinking perverted thoughts about Haruka again. Before he could do anything else bad, Kou quickly slipped the t-shirt over Haruka and, after deciding to not change the boy's pants because it could have severe consequences, got into bed next to him.

Pulling the covers over both of them, Kou purposefully pulled Haruka close to him and felt the boy unconciously bury his face in Kou's shirt. The man smiled and wrapped his arms around Haruka's waist, closing his eyes. He was really looking forward to spending the day with Haruka tomorrow and, hopefully, getting closer with the boy. But, for now, he was glad to be able to be with him like this. Just the two of them, cuddling, and enjoying being with each other in a peaceful sleep.

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><p><strong>Here ends chapter two! I'll try to have chapter three up soon and, just so you know, I will be writing a Kou x Haruka lemon. That will probably happen in chapter four, so I hope some people are looking forward to that. =w= Feedback is appreciated and thanks for reading! ^-^<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is chapter three. ^-^ I'm glad I was able to post this sooner than I did with chapter two and I hope it turned out pretty well. Again, I apologize if anything is inaccurate in this chapter. I still don't know what the Pageant of Starlight in Sendai is like, so I just did my own interpretation of what I imagine it's like. Hopefully it's not too off and that people enjoy it anyway. Another thing is that I gave Kou a car in the story, but I don't know if he actually has one or not. Since I don't think it was mentioned in the anime, it's okay for me to give him one because it may not be proven, but it's not unproven either. There's some more Kou x Haruka fluff in this chapter since I'm such a sucker for it. XD I also brought the Shirogane x Akira pairing into the story because I love that pairing as well and I wanted to have both of my favorite MF couples included. So, enjoy! :)**

**Series: Monochrome Factor**

**Pairings: Kou x Haruka, Shirogane x Akira**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy) and Shota (an older man with a younger boy). If you don't like that kind of stuff, then please don't read or flame me for it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monochrome Factor or any of the characters. They all belong to their rightful owner(s). If I did own it, Kou and Haruka would have kissed in the anime and become a couple.**

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><p>When Haruka woke up, the first thing he saw was Kou's sleeping face very close to his own and when he looked down, he saw that their bodies were pressed together. He felt a blush come to his face and, from the embarrassment plus feeling a little cranky, was annoyed at Kou invading his personal space. Haruka tried to remove Kou's arms from around his waist, but the older man had a tight grip on him. Unfortunately for the boy, Kou liked to hug things in his sleep and he wasn't going to let Haruka go that easily. He put his hands on Kou's chest and tried to push him away, feeling his embarrassment rising more. 'Please wake up, Kou!' Haruka said to himself and helplessly worked on getting out of Kou's embrace. Haruka glanced past Kou at the clock on a small dresser next to the bed and saw the time read 9:12. "Onii-chan, it's time to get up. We'll be late in meeting with the others." There wasn't actually a set time for when they were going to Sendai, but Haruka wanted any excuse to make Kou wake up and let go of him. "Mmm. Don't wanna." Kou replied sleepily, pulling the young boy closer to his chest. Haruka knit his eyebrows and looked up at Kou. 'Is he awake or did he say that in his sleep?'<p>

What Haruka didn't know was that Kou had woken up a few minutes before him, but was still pretending to sleep in order to keep their little cuddle fest going on. He accidentally slipped up saying what he did and decided to give up on his charade. Kou opened his eyes and smiled down charmingly at Haruka, hoping to stop him from being mad. "Morning, Haru." Kou said and placed a kiss on Haruka's forehead, causing said boy to blush. The kiss and smile weren't enough to completely stop Haruka from being mad, though. He gave a small glare at Kou and said, "Were you pretending to be asleep just so you could keep hugging me?" Kou sighed. "I knew your brilliant mind would figure it out sooner or later." The man shifted his position and sat up, propping himself up with his elbow and continued looking down at the adorable glare he recieved from Haruka. "I just couldn't help it. I love cuddling with you and you're so warm." Kou told him as he lovingly caressed the side of Haruka's face.

Haruka blushed again and felt his anger fade away. Even if he didn't fully know it himself, the boy was a sucker for romance and flirting. Maybe that's one reason why he loved Kou and every time he said endearing things to him. Not being able to come up with a response to what Kou said, Haruka sat up as well and decided they should get ready for their outing. Haruka looked down and saw he was wearing a shirt, that was way too big for him, and looked over to see his clothes from last night on the floor. Did Kou change his shirt last night while he was asleep? He put a hand over his chest and clutched the collar of the shirt, feeling his embarrassment rising once again. As if realizing what Haruka started thinking about, Kou quickly got out of the bed. "Well, I'm going to go make breakfast. You can take a shower and it should be done by then. Tell me if you need anything." Kou said quickly and left the room, avoiding what he assumed would have been an awkward conversation with Haruka about how he took off his clothes the night before. Haruka pushed the thought to the back of his mind and would ask Kou about it later.

He got out of bed and the baggy shirt he was wearing fell down to his knees. 'This is ridiculously huge on me. Why couldn't Kou have put on my pajamas that I brought?' Haruka thought and walked out of the bedroom and over to one of the couches that Kou had set his overnight bag down on at some point. As Haruka was grabbing a fresh change of clothes, Kou glanced at him from the small kitchen area and couldn't help but give a stifled laugh at seeing how big the shirt was on his little Haruka. The boy heard Kou's laugh and turned his head to the side to look at him, causing Kou to get back to cooking and act as if he hadn't done anything. Haruka ignored it and walked to the bathroom, saying he'd be out soon. Kou responded with an "okay" and, being a pervert, asked if Haruka wanted Kou to take a shower with him. He received a dark blush from Haruka and the boy said nothing as he went into the bathroom. Kou smiled and got a few plates out, setting them on the counter. 'Oh, I'm going to have so much fun teasing Haru.'

As Haruka stepped out of the batroom, the smell of fresh food hit his nose. "Ah, there you are. Breakfast is ready, Haru." Kou said happily from the kitchen, looking at the boy longer than necessary. Kou couldn't help but love and hate Haruka's choice of clothing today. Haruka was wearing black skinny jeans, a light blue, long sleeve button-up shirt, which was underneath a darker blue argyle vest. The older man swore that he had never seen anyone make the argyle and preppy style look hotter than Haruka did. Tearing his gaze away, he grabbed two plates that had traditional Japanese food on them and set the plates down on the little table in between the couches. "Did you have a good sleep last night, Haru?" Kou asked, trying to keep himself from being distracted by Haruka's outfit and the tight jeans that hugged his small, yet long legs. "It was nice." Haruka responded and sat down on the couch, grabbing his chopsticks. He felt a little awkward talking so casually with Kou after his confession from last night and that he spent the night in the man's bed, wearing one of his shirts. But, Haruka was also sort of glad things weren't weird between them now. He was especially glad that he knew Kou returned his feelings and that he got to kiss him again. Kou looked down at Haruka from where he was standing and smiled. "Haru, you're blushing."

Haruka blinked, shaking away his thoughts and looked at Kou. "What?" Kou's smile grew wider. "Were you thinking about our kiss from last night?" Kou asked him teasingly and smirked when he saw Haruka's blush grow. Deciding to stop teasing the boy for now, Kou told Haruka he was going to take a fast shower and for the boy to start eating without him. Haruka nodded in response, but Kou wanted to do one last thing before he got in the shower. Kou walked over next to Haruka and leaned down, swooping his face up by his chin and kissed Haruka softly. Haruka blushed and his eyes widened in surprise. Once Kou pulled back, he kissed the boy's cheek and winked at him, walking off to the bathroom. "Be a good boy while I'm gone, okay?" Haruka, not being able to control his blush reflex, blushed again and went back to eating. 'I'm going to have to get used to Kou's affection, or else I won't be able to ever stop myself from being embarrassed.' Haruka thought, but no matter how much he could try, Kou would always embarrass him.

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><p>Back at Akira's house, a certain butler was worriedly walking around the living room. "I'm sure they're fine. Haruka-kun is in good hands." Shirogane said, trying to set the butler's worries to rest. Kou was supposed to call in the morning when he and Haruka woke up, but he had forgotten to and the pre-teen's butler was very concerned. After all, he had left young Haruka, the one he looks after, alone with a man who was well-known for being a pervert and who knows what could have happened to him? "It's all my fault if Haruka-sama was defiled by that man." Akira was amused at the butler's worrying and chuckled at the use of the word 'defiled.' Akira knew that Kou was very fond of Haruka and would more than likely molest him, but he was sure that Kou would never force Haruka into anything. Despite what he thought, Akira couldn't help but wonder if anything had happened between them last night. Aya would probably flip out if something did happen. Chuckling again, Akira got up from the chair he was sitting in and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Haruka is fine, you don't have to worry. Kou-nii isn't that bad." Akira told the butler, trying to calm him down. "Really, what could have happened?" Kengo added in, finishing up his breakfast. "What could have happened?" The butler repeated Kengo's question with a bit of surprise in his voice. "I don't even want to imagine the things that could have happened to Haruka-sama." The butler's mind drifted off to a scenario between Kou and Haruka that he started telling to the others in the room.<p>

_Kou threw Haruka onto the bed and got on top of him, pinning his wrists down. "Onii-chan, what are you doing?" Haruka asked innocently, staring up at his attacker. Kou grinned and traced one his hands down the boy's chest. "Now that we're alone, I have you right where I want you." Kou said, as he started kissing Haruka's neck and leaving marks, while running his hands down Haruka's legs that were on each side of his body. "No, please don't! Ah~" Haruka shot his hands in between his legs, covering himself and whimpered. "Go ahead and call for help. No one will hear you, my precious kitten." Kou said as he sat up on his knees and ripped Haruka's shirt open, sending buttons flying. "I won't let you go." Kou told him, smirking mischievously. Haruka panted and closed his knees together, keeping his hands in between his legs. "Please stop, Onii-chan." Haruka pleaded, as he looked up at Kou with tears in his eyes and his cheeks red. "How can I stop when you're so tempting, Haru?" Kou asked and leaned back down again, touching the boy. "Ah! No! I-I won't be able to-!" Haruka whined and grasped for dear life onto Kou's back. "Onii-chan...I-I'm...ahh~"_

Everyone in the room had different reactions to the butler's thought of what could have happened. Aya was gaping in horror, suddenly worried that Kou actually had taken advantage of Haruka. Kengo was a bit preoccupied with his breakfast and hadn't really heard the story, while Master seemed to be unfazed and was quietly sipping his drink. Akira, not that he would ever admit it, thought the idea was kind of hot and Shirogane was smiling a little, but covering it up. "I knew we shouldn't have left Haruka-kun with Kou-san all by himself!" Aya abruptly said, siding with Haruka's butler on this. "Come on, that wouldn't happen." Kengo said, indicating he had been listening, but didn't seem to be too shocked by the idea. Shirogane moved closer to Akira and said, "I'm more likely do that, right, Akira-kun?" His name was whispered into Akira's ear, making him shiver slightly and blush. He turned around to glare at Shirogane with the blush still on his face. "As if I would let you do that." Akira said defensively and crossed his arms together.

Shirogane frowned a little, saddened that Akira was still so opposed to his flirting and always thinking that the man was joking when he said those things. He wished that Akira could accept his feelings and know that they were true, but he guessed he would have to let Akira do that on his own. Getting back to the topic Haruka's butler was concerned about, he continued to fret over the boy. "I hope they call soon." The butler said, rubbing at his forehead. As if luck was on his side, Akira's home phone started ringing and the butler ran over to answer it. "Hello, Haruka-sama?" On the other line, Kou responded. "Good morning! I'm sorry for not calling earlier, I was busy making breakfast and helping Haru get ready." Haruka's butler let out a sigh of relief. "Is Haruka-sama alright? Did he get enough sleep?"

Kou was standing in the living room, dressed in clean clothes and drying his hair with a towel, while holding his cellphone in the other hand. "Yes, yes. Haru got plenty of sleep and he's already showered and ate breakfast, so he's ready to go." Kou told the man on the other line as he glanced at Haruka, who was standing patiently next to one of the couches, waiting to leave. Kou smiled at how adorable Haruka looked just standing there and almost missed what the butler had said. "You want to meet in Sendai around 1:00? Yeah, that's fine. Haru and I will drive over in my car and call when we're there to find you. Oh, no, I insist. Yes, okay, see you then." Kou closed his purple cellphone with the word "hoe" written on it and put it in his pocket, turning around to face Haruka. "Did you hear that, Haru? You understand the plan?" Haruka nodded and walked over to Kou. "Should we leave now?" He asked, looking up at Kou. "Yep, let's get going." Kou replied and swung his arm over Haruka's shoulders, walking out the door with him to the car.

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><p>Once they arrived in the center of Sendai, Haruka gasped and was amazed by all the lights around them. Kou looked in his mirror and saw Haruka in the backseat, joy written on his face and mesmerized by the glittering lights. "Pretty, isn't it?" The man asked, finding a place to park. "It's beautiful." Haruka responded and unbuckled his seat belt, while keeping his eyes on the different colored lights. Kou got out of the car and shut his door, walking to the back and opening Haruka's door for him. "It's much prettier when you're underneath them, too." Kou said and let Haruka out of the car, walking behind the boy who started wandering a bit to get a better view of the scenery. "Hey, guys!" Kou and Haruka turned at the sound of familiar voices and saw the rest of their friends walking over. It was lucky Kou and Haruka didn't have to spend any time trying to find their friends. "Haruka-sama, I'm glad that you're okay!" Haruka's butler exclaimed as he came over and hugged the boy gently. Haruka hugged him back, confused. 'I wonder why he seems worried that I wasn't going to be okay.'<p>

Akira stood next to Kou and whispered to him, "You should have seen how concerned Haruka's butler was this morning. You won't believe what he thought you did to Haruka while you two were together." Kou raised a brow in interest and looked at Haruka's butler who was helping put a scarf around the boy because of the cold weather. "I'll tell you about it later." Akira finished and walked back over to Kengo and Aya. "Well, if everyone is ready, should we start exploring?" Shirogane asked and smiled at Akira, watching him admire the lights. "Let's go!" Kengo said excitedly and started walking away from the group. Being distracted by the lights above and around him, Kou had to grab Haruka's hand and pull him along, so he wouldn't get left behind. Haruka, taken out of his daze, looked down to see Kou holding his hand and felt his cheeks heat up. As far as Haruka could remember, the only time Kou had held his hand was when they first met. Kou had picked him up, flirted with him while holding his hand and said he should let Kou take him home. Haruka's cheeks turned even more pink, remembering that time. Kou turned his head and looked down, seeing Haruka lost in his thoughts and seeming distracted. Kou quickly bent down and kissed Haruka's cheek, causing Haruka to look at him with wide eyes. Kou smiled, thinking to himself. 'He's just so cute when he's caught off-guard.' Kou squeezed Haruka's hand and kept walking next to him. Haruka gave a small smile and moved closer to Kou, while they walked behind the others. At this point, he didn't even care if his friends and his butler found out about his relationship with Kou. All that mattered to Haruka was getting to spend time with the man he loved and having fun with him.

While they were walking around under the shimmering lights, Aya took a lot of pictures and Kengo was as thrilled as ever, while Shirogane kept going on about how he was glad he got to be in this beautiful place with Akira, which in return, made Akira blush faintly and roll his eyes at the man. Haruka's butler was walking a little bit in front of Haruka and every once in a while would glance back to check on him. Whenever he did that, Haruka would take his hand away from Kou's. He did say that he didn't care if his friends found out about him being Kou's boyfriend, but it wasn't completely true. Haruka was still worried about how his butler would react and if he would approve. From his negative reactions in the past to Kou's flirting, Haruka was thinking that the butler wouldn't handle it too well. "Look! There's a chocolate shop!" Kengo's little outburst took Haruka away from his thoughts and he followed Kengo over to this store that had chocolate displays in the window. Most of the chocolates on display were Christmas-themed and looked like they were meant to attract couples. Christmas time in Japan is a time for people to go on romantic dates and spend time with the ones they love, so they had seen quite a lot of couples walking around. "That chocolate looks so delicious." Kengo said, drool sliding down his chin. "Let's get some!" Before anyone could protest, Kengo ran inside the store, making the others have no choice but to go in as well.

Coming very happily out of the store and humming, Kengo was eating a chocolate snowman he bought and he wasn't the only one who was happy to get some sweets. Aya was breaking off pieces of a dark chocolate bar and Akira was sucking on a green, red, and white lollipop, while Shirogane started getting dirty thoughts. "Why are you staring at me, Shirogane?" Akira asked suspiciously and inched away from him. "Oh, nothing." Shirogane replied, trying to sound innocent, despite the grin on his face. Kou wasn't the only pervert among the group of friends. "Haru, do you want one?" Haruka took his eyes away from Shirogane and Akira to look at Kou, who was holding a chocolate covered strawberry up to his mouth. "Um, okay." Haruka responded and tried to take the strawberry from Kou, only to have it popped into his mouth by the man. "Go ahead, try it." Kou said, giving the boy a small smile. Haruka obeyed and ate the strawberry, enjoying the sweet taste. "Mm. It's really good." He said, licking a bit of chocolate off his fingers. Kou had the sudden urge to kiss Haruka, whose lips were redder due to the juice from the strawberry.

Looking at the others, who were luckily preoccupied at the moment, Kou cupped the side of Haruka's face and kissed him right on the lips. Haruka could feel his heartbeat quicken because of being kissed by Kou and also knowing that any one of his friends could see them. The one who happened to see them kissing was Akira and said boy's eyes widened considerably, his mouth falling open slightly. 'Kou-nii and Haruka are kissing...holy shit.' Akira thought and kept on staring at them in a silent shock. He was aware that Kou liked Haruka and had a feeling that Haruka liked him back as well, but he wasn't prepared to witness them kissing each other. What started surprising Akira more was that he actually found it hot and that no one else had seen Kou and Haruka kissing yet. But, Akira wasn't going to point it out. Honestly, he kind of liked being the only one, so far, to know about what kind of relationship his two friends have.

Kou finally pulled back from the kiss, leaving Haruka panting lightly. 'Wow. That's the longest Kou and I have ever kissed.' Haruka said to himself and held his fingers up to his lips. Kou didn't bother to tease Haruka about his blush this time because he was sure that Haruka was aware of his red cheeks already. Kou did ruffle Haruka's hair, however, and run his thumbs over Haruka's soft cheeks. Sensing someone looking at them, Kou glanced over at Akira who was smiling and he suddenly had the dreading feeling that he had seen what Kou and Haruka just did. As if knowing that Kou was catching on, Akira gave a small nod at Kou and hopped off of a ledge he was sitting on and walked over to the pair. "How was the chocolate covered strawberry, Haruka?" Akira asked casually, ignoring Kou's curious gaze on him. Haruka, unaware that Akira had seen the kiss he shared with Kou, said, "Yeah, it was really delicious." Akira kept his gaze on Haruka and smiled. "They are pretty good, aren't they? I think Kou-nii enjoyed it, too." The last sentence was said as Akira turned his head to look at the older man. Kou's eyes narrowed a little at Akira from behind his glasses and cleared his throat, knowing that Akira had seen everything. Akira tried really hard to keep himself from breaking out into a smirk and being a smart ass about it to Kou. "Well, we should probably keep walking before it gets darker out." The secretly gloating Akira said and walked back over to Shirogane. 'Damn, he totally knows. But, I'm sure that Aki won't tell anyone. Still, I guess we'll have to let everyone else know at some point about our relationship.' Kou said to himself mentally, watching Haruka eat another strawberry and still completely oblivious.

They had spent a good five hours walking around Sendai and the sun was starting to set. Kengo ate a ton of chocolate and other sweets that caused him to have a sugar rush, but now it was fading away and he had started crashing. "Oww. My stomach hurts..." Kengo complained and held his hands over his aching stomach. "You shouldn't have ate that much candy, Kengo." Aya scolded him for the umpteenth time that day. "You had fun though, didn't you?" Shirogane questioned, walking next to Akira and wanting to cheer Kengo up. It worked and Kengo got a bright smile on his face. "Yes! It was a lot of fun!" "Did you have fun, too, Haruka-kun?" Shirogane turned to Haruka this time and smiled at him, his pale skin and his blue eyes beaming under the lights. Haruka had thought that Shirogane was really pretty ever since he met him, with his long white hair in a braid and his sapphire eyes that contrasted his pale complexion. But, the boy never quite noticed how beautiful the man actually was. "I did. Thanks for taking me, you guys." Haruka responded, his mind getting back on track. He felt a pair of arms embrace him from behind, causing him to stop walking and tilt his head back to look up at who had hugged him. To no surprise, Kou was hugging Haruka and looked down at Haruka's face which was looking up at him. "I'm glad you had fun, Haru." Kou gave the boy a warm smile and Haruka smiled in return. How many times had Haruka smiled since he got here?

Arriving back at Kou's car, Haruka told his butler that he wanted to spend the night at Kou's place again. His butler was a little hesitant at first, but seeing that Haruka was perfectly fine this morning and hadn't been violated by the pervert of a man behind him, the butler allowed Haruka to do it. They had more plans tomorrow, so once again, Haruka's butler told Kou to make sure Haruka got enough sleep. Kou told him he would do so and got into the car with the aforementioned boy. Haruka waved at his friends from in the car and watched them walk away to find where they parked. Sighing and leaning back against the seat, Haruka looked out the window and saw the last bit of lights as they drove away from Sendai. The boy felt his eyes slowly closing and he leaned his head against the door, falling asleep with pleasant thoughts in his mind.

Haruka woke up in Kou's apartment again, but this time he noticed that he was currently being carried in the man's arms. "Oh, you're awake." Haruka heard Kou's familiar voice and looked up at him, seeing that same old smile. "We're already back at your place?" Haruka asked, a bit confused and out of it from just waking up. "You fell asleep in the car, so I carried you inside." Kou told him as he continued carrying Haruka into his bedroom and set him on the bed. "You got tired from all the walking around we did, huh?" Kou sat down next to Haruka and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Haruka gave a small sound and a nod of his head that said he was saying yes. Yawning and rubbing at his eyes, Haruka let his head fall against Kou's shoulder. Kou smiled and put his right hand on Haruka's head, running his fingers through the boy's soft hair. Haruka sighed and leaned into Kou's touch. He loved it when Kou would run his fingers through his hair and just when he touched him in general. 'I love it when Kou touches me.' The boy blushed when he thought of what he said in the dirty way. Kou looked down at Haruka and, cursing himself, wanted to kiss him again. He really shouldn't want to kiss Haruka every time he looks at him. If he does, then he'll be kissing him 24/7.

"Haru," Kou said, ignoring the fact he should at least give Haruka a warning, "I want to kiss you." Haruka brought his head off Kou's shoulder and looked up at him, a blush visible on his face despite the darkness of the room. He still wasn't sure what to say when Kou said things like that, so he just closed his eyes and waited for the man to kiss him. Kou leaned his face down and gently kissed Haruka, keeping his hand on the back of Haruka's head. Their kissing became a bit more passionate as Kou decided to see how Haruka would react to being kissed somewhere else than his lips. The older man started placing soft kisses on the side of Haruka's neck and licking it. The boy gasped loudly, not ever having his neck being licked or marked before and moaned. Kou left Haruka's neck and kissed him on the lips again, wrapping both of his arms around him. Haruka slowly brought his hands around Kou's neck and kept kissing him. Kou was a bit surprised that Haruka, being only eleven years old, was a pretty good kisser and already responding by wrapping his arms around his neck. Kou couldn't stop himself before he lowered Haruka onto the bed and started kissing down his neck once again.

Haruka shivered and tightly grasped Kou's shoulders, feeling excited and nervous at actually laying underneath the man of his dreams. Kou, currently busy with Haruka's neck, started thinking about earlier when Akira had told him what the butler had imagined Kou did to the young boy. Kou couldn't help himself from grinning at the stereotypical rape scene you would see in some Yaoi and that Haruka's butler imagined him saying those things. Then again, Kou probably would call Haruka his precious kitten because he liked to use "cutesy" names and Haruka did sort of remind him of a kitten. Kou's thoughts were quickly drawn back to the boy below him when he heard him start panting. Sitting up a little and looking down, Kou saw Haruka's eyes shut with flushed cheeks and panting lightly. 'Wow. I guess Haru really is super sensitive.' Kou was elated at that fact, but decided it was for the best to stop before he went too far. Kou sat up fully and pulled Haruka up with him, letting Haruka rest his head on his chest. "Sorry, Haru. I didn't mean to get you all worked up." Kou apologized with a small chuckle in his voice. "I-I don't mind." Haruka replied, trying not to let the nervousness and embarrassment in his voice show. He actually wanted Kou to continue kissing him and was enjoying the new feeling that was introduced to him. Seeing that Haruka seemed a little disappointed, Kou said, "Don't worry. We'll be able to do that again...and maybe even more." The man bit Haruka's ear, making Haruka whimper a little and blush again. Kou knew he shouldn't torture the boy, but he can't change who he is: a big tease.

A few minutes later, Haruka came back into the bedroom after brushing his teeth in the bathroom and was wearing the pajamas he brought the other night. 'So, Haru did bring pajamas. I should have looked in his bag for them instead of just putting that huge shirt on him. He did look cute in it, though.' Kou mused and got off the bed, walking over to his dresser and taking out a shirt to sleep in. He started unbuttoning his white dress shirt and slipped it off, not noticing the blushing boy staring at him. Haruka averted his eyes from Kou taking off his shirt and sat down on the bed with his back facing Kou. Taking a chance, Haruka glanced behind him and saw Kou slip on a black t-shirt, then look over at him. Haruka turned back, pretending that he wasn't watching Kou a second ago and pulled the blanket up. "Well, goodnight, Onii-chan." Haruka got underneath the covers and kept his back to Kou. Just as he closed his eyes, Haruka felt large hands slip underneath the blanket and wrap around his chest. The boy immediately knew who it was, since there was only Kou and himself in the room, but he jumped at the sudden touch. Kou buried his face in Haruka's hair and hugged the boy's back against his chest. "You didn't think you would fall asleep before I gave you a goodnight kiss, did you?" Haruka blushed and, not getting the chance to say anything, yelped a little as Kou rolled him over so they were now facing each other.

"Um, well, I'm sorry...I didn't know you wanted to-" Kou put a finger over Haruka's lips, keeping him from finishing his sentence. "Honestly, Haru, I thought you would know by now that I always want to kiss you." Kou said, grinning at Haruka in the darkness. Haruka looked down and hesitantly moved closer to Kou, then looked back up at him. "You-You always want to kiss me?" He asked quietly. Kou ran his fingertips over Haruka's cheek, stopping at the side of his neck and cupping it. "Yes, I always want to." Kou responded, wanting to see Haruka's cute blush and show him that he really does love him. To prove it, Kou kissed the boy like he had only minutes before and pulled Haruka close to his chest. Haruka practically melted into the kiss and closed his eyes, kissing Kou back. Kou pulled away after a few moments and kissed Haruka's nose, while running his hand up and down his back. "Now that's a goodnight kiss." Kou said, smiling at Haruka's small laugh. "Goodnight, Haru." Kou reached under the blanket and brought one of Haruka's hands out and entwined their fingers together. The boy nuzzled his face against Kou's hand then shut his eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. Kou shut his eyes as well, still holding Haruka against his chest and his thoughts drifted off to how happy he was to be able to be closer with Haruka, liked he had hoped. Both of them were fast asleep, absorbed in their happiness and holding hands all night.

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><p><strong>The Kou x Haruka sex scene has been moved to chapter five because I wanted to extend this story a little longer and my goal is to have chapter four up tomorrow or Thursday, so I can post the lemon chapter before the 24th. ^w^ I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the chapters that are to come. Feedback is appreciated! Ciao~<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hooray! I got chapter four up only a day after I posted the third chapter! It's a pretty big accomplishment for me. XD So, I included a Japanese festival in this chapter and I'm pretty sure I messed something up. I've never been to a festival in Japan before or seen what they look like, so I just based most of it off from a scene I saw in an anime. ^-^; I also made the characters wear yukatas and I apologize if I picked colors that wouldn't normally be on a yukata. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyhow, despite any grammar/spelling errors and anything I put that might be innacurate. :) Oh, and I brought Kengo's sister Mayu into the story and I'm not sure if she ever said Haruka's name, so I just made her call him "Haruka-chan." I thought that was a cute name for someone to call Haruka. ^w^ Anyway, enjoy chapter four!**

**Series: Monochrome Factor**

**Pairings: Kou x Haruka, Shirogane x Akira**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy) and Shota (an older man with a younger boy). If you don't like that kind of stuff, then please don't read or flame me for it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monochrome Factor or any of the characters. They all belong to their rightful owner(s). If I did own it, Kou and Haruka would have kissed and become a couple.**

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><p>It had now been almost two weeks since Haruka arrived in Japan and he had been hanging out and going on outings with his friends the whole time. They went to a few popular tourist attractions, went to see a new movie that came out, and the days where they didn't go somewhere, Haruka would hang out at Akira's house and enjoy the crazy things his friends would get into. The most often being that Kengo would piss Aya off and she would beat him with whatever she could use as a weapon. Haruka even got the chance to see Kengo's sister, Mayu, again. Her greeting was similar to what Kengo's had been at the airport.<p>

_"Haruka-chan~!" Mayu squealed and ran over, glomping Haruka and almost knocking him over. Akira had to grab Haruka to keep him from falling down, while Kengo helped pry Mayu off of the boy. "Careful, Nee-chan! You almost broke Haruka." Kengo said and gave an apolgetic look to Haruka and to Kou, who looked a bit mad. Kou had become very protective of Haruka since they became a couple and got more than a little jealous over someone other than himself hugging Haruka so affectionately. "No one will break my beautiful Haru." Kou said, wrapping his arms around the small boy possessively. Haruka blushed faintly and looked back at Kou. He was really liking how Kou was possessive of him at times and that the older man was only flirting with him now lately. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just so happy to see you, Haruka-chan! I'm glad I get to see you again and now I have the chance to dress you up!" Mayu chirped happily and clapped her hands together. "Dress me up?" Haruka asked, confused. Kou, as well, was wondering what Mayu meant by that. "Oh, no, Nee-chan. You don't mean-" Kengo didn't get to finish his sentence as Mayu grabbed a pair of black cat ears out of her purse and happily exclaimed, "Ta-da!" Haruka cocked his head to the side a little in confusion and stared at the fluffy black cat ears that were attatched to a silver headband. "What are those for?" Akira asked, standing next to Shirogane and not minding the Shin who was holding one hand on the high school student's shoulder. Kou and Haruka weren't the only ones who had gotten closer in these past twelve days. It was still unclear if Shirogane and Akira had finally become a couple, but there was clearly something different between them. Akira wouldn't dismiss Shirogane's flirting or his touches as much and they both seemed to be more happy together. _

_ Of course, Akira would still yell at Shirogane and said man would pout pitifully and say he only did something because of his love for Akira. It would amuse Haruka greatly when that happened and he hoped that Akira would eventually accept his feelings that he continued to deny. "These are for Haruka-chan! They would look great on him, don't you think?" Mayu asked, directing everyone's attention to the boy. Haruka became a little nervous as everyone stared at him and started wishing that Mayu was only joking about him wearing the cat ears. "I think Haruka-kun would look cute in them." Aya said, not making anything better for the boy. "Yeah, I think so, too." Kengo said, poking at Haruka's head. Akira sighed, noticing Haruka's discomfort and wanted to help him out. "Guys, leave Haruka alone. Give him some space, would you?" Haruka sent Akira a look saying "thank you" and looked back at Mayu. "Is this what you meant by dressing me up?" Mayu nodded and flashed a smile at Haruka. "Yep! I wanted to put neko ears on you from the first time I saw you, but I never got the chance and then you moved to England. But, now, I have the opportunity!" Mayu told Haruka and before he could protest, she put the ears on his head. "Kyaah~! I was right! You look so cute!" Mayu was jumping up and down and fangirling over Haruka in cat ears, while the others backed up to view the flustered boy. "You know, he actually does look cute." Akira added in, throwing away all of the attempts he was going to make to help Haruka. Shirogane, despite feeling bad for the boy, smiled at Haruka and admired how adorable he looked. Normally Aya doesn't go into a fangirl mode, but seeing Haruka in cat ears, decided to fawn over little Haruka with Mayu. Haruka turned around to look at Kou with a helpless expression on his face and Kou, who was already trying desperately to restrain himself, lost it and hugged him. "Haru, you really are just too cute!" Kou exclaimed and hugged Haruka tightly to him, while the poor boy had no idea of what to do. Meanwhile, Mayu was smiling and contemplating if she could get Haruka into a maid's dress at some point. _

Needless to say, Haruka indeed has very many weird friends and now knows to expect stuff like that to happen to him. That little outburst happened yesterday and it was now December 24th, the day before Christmas. Haruka and his friends are planning to go to a festival later in the evening and eat all kinds of the delicious food that will be around. At least, that's what Kengo had said. Kengo just loves food so much and it tends to annoy Aya the most out of the others. Getting up from Akira's bed, Haruka continued waiting for Akira to come back from the bathroom to help him with his yukata. Last night, Haruka stayed at Akira's house and slept in his bed with the older boy. Haruka spent most of his nights at Kou's place in the past week, but a few times he would stay with Akira because he wanted to hang out with him, too. Haruka thought it would be a little weird sleeping in Akira's bed with him, but it surprisingly wasn't. I guess that shows how good of friends they are. The two boys would talk about relationship stuff, mostly. That being about Kou and Haruka because Akira was too embarrassed to say anything about liking Shirogane. Akira had told Haruka that he knew about his relationship with Kou and things sort of took off from there. When they were talking the night before, Akira had said that he felt like they were two teenage girls and might as well braid each other's hair while they were at it.

Haruka remembered what Akira said and giggled, putting a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing. Just then, Akira came back into the room wearing a dark blue yukata that went down to his ankles and had a faint leafy pattern on it. The sash around him was a lighter blue that contrasted with the darkness of Akira's yukata and Haruka thought it looked really good on his friend. "What are you snickering about?" Akira questioned, as he came in and caught Haruka with his hand covering his mouth and the small smile he was hiding. "Nothing, I was just thinking about something." Haruka replied and kept admiring what Akira was wearing. As the older of the two was about to help Haruka finish putting his yukata on, Akira stared at his younger friend, his eyes narrowing. "Oh, what the-Mayu, why did you make us wear matching yukatas?" Mayu insisted on picking out yukata's for everyone, which they should have known wasn't a good idea. Kengo's sister thought it would be cute for Akira and Haruka to wear matching outfits, so, lucky for her, she found two yukata's that were the same, but each a different size. "Damn, I knew it wasn't a good idea to let her pick out what we wear. I can't imagine what the other's must look like." Akira said, letting out an aggravated sigh. "Whatever, I guess it's not that bad." Akira finished and walked over to Haruka, starting to help him get his yukata the rest of the way on. "Maybe Kengo and Aya will have embarrassing yukatas." Haruka said, hoping to cheer Akira up. Akira smiled and chuckled a little, as he pulled Haruka's yukata over his thin, pale shoulders. "Yeah. Who knows, maybe Kengo's sister picked out a pink, flower print yukata for him." Akira mused and starting laughing at the thought of Kengo in a girlie yukata, along with Haruka.

In the living room, Akira almost let out a loud laugh and grabbed onto Haruka's shoulder, looking away. Haruka stared at the sight in front of him and Akira. Kengo was sitting in a chair wearing a yellow yukata with a reddish-brown sash and it wasn't abnormal at all, but what made Akira and Haruka try hard to keep from having a laughing riot was Kengo's clearly unhappy face and the fact that Mayu had put a few sparkly bow clips in his hair and shiny lip gloss on his lips. "W-what's going on, Kengo?" Akira asked, laughing in between his words and still holding onto Haruka. Aya was sitting over on the couch and also trying not to burst out laughing, but did well to act unamused. "Akira-kun, Haruka-chan! You look amazing in your matching yukatas!" Mayu chirped and momentarily stopped messing with Kengo. Haruka's butler came over to the boy and was wearing a gray yukata and a dark brown sash. "Haruka-sama, is your yukata comfortable?" The butler asked, making sure Haruka was okay and seeming to ignore the situation Kengo was in. Haruka nodded at him reassuringly and looked back at Kengo, smiling again. "I knew I had good taste in clothing." Mayu complimented herself, as she turned her attention to Aya. "Aya-chan, you look so gorgeous in your yukata." Aya was wearing a light pink yukata that came with a light blue sash and had a red flower in her hair. Mayu had an almost identical look to Aya's, except her yukata was red with an orange sash and had a purple flower in her hair. "Thanks, Mayu-san. I really like what you picked out for me." Aya smiled sweetly at Mayu and was clearly happy about her yukata. Kou walked into the room and almost fell over when he saw Kengo. "Ken...you look so girlie and pretty." Kou didn't bother to contain his laughing, which made Akira let out his laugh as well and cause Haruka to start giggling. Kengo ripped the bows out of his hair and started rubbing at the lip gloss. "Nee-chan! You said I wasn't going to look girlie!" Kengo whined and looked at his sister.

"You don't look girlie! I made you look pretty and it suited you very well, didn't it?" Mayu was asking the others in the room, trying to get support and convince Kengo not to be mad. "Oh yeah, it definitely suits you, Kengo. Really." Akira said, doing his best to look serious. Kengo suddenly felt better and smiled. "Thanks. I guess you were only trying to be nice, Nee-chan." Kengo and his sister hugged, sharing a touching moment, while Kou and Akira exchanged amused smirks at each other. When Kou looked over at Akira, he noticed Haruka for the first time and he couldn't stop looking at him. Kou looked Haruka up and down, mesmerized by how cute he looked in his yukata. 'Haru looks so adorable...and beautiful.' Kou was in awe at seeing Haruka in the dark blue yukata that went well with the boy's eyes. Haruka looked over to see Kou staring at him and he gave the man a small smile. Kou was taken aback at Haruka's sudden smile and felt like he just fell even more in love with him. 'I don't care anymore how ridiculous it might sound for an adult guy like me to be captivated by a young boy.' Kou was pretty much over his guilt for being in love with Haruka and over being worried about the reactions of his friends. For him, all he needed to know was that Haruka loved him back just as much as he loved him. Kou walked over to Haruka and put his hands on his shoulders. "Haru, you look great." Haruka smiled again and quickly looked over Kou's solid black yukata with a white sash around his waist. "You look nice, too, Onii-chan." Kou chuckled and patted Haruka's head.

"Ooh! Shirogane, look at you!" Akira heard Mayu's excited voice and looked up and saw Shirogane wearing a white yukata with a beige sash. Even though the color of his yukata was pretty plain, Shirogane stood out. The man seemed to do that a lot, in Akira's eyes. Shirogane smiled at Akira and saw the pink blush appear on his cheeks, making him smile more. "Master, you look very nice, as well." Aya added in and looked at Master's yukata that was blue like Akira and Haruka's, but a bit lighter and with a white sash. "Can we go now? I really want to eat the food at the festival." Haruka smiled to himself, since he was expecting Kengo to say that. "Alright, everyone's here, so let's go!" Kou said excitedly and walked outside with Haruka and the others following.

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><p>The festival was even prettier than Haruka imagined. There was also more people, too. Haruka had only been to a few festivals throughout his life and most of those were when he was a kid. Well, he's still a kid, but when he was a lot younger. Kengo was also incredibly excited and kept wanting to try food from every stand they passed. Haruka and all his friends were having a great time at the festival. While they were walking around, Haruka could have sworn he saw Shirogane's hand brush against Akira's for a moment and saw them lock eyes, looking at each other warmly. The boy was now pretty sure that Shirogane and Akira had gotten together, but he wouldn't press the issue just yet. Kou was holding Haruka's hand as they walked and something caught his eye. Stopping, Kou took a look at this small booth that was selling rings and other jewelry. Haruka was abruptly pulled back when Kou stopped, due to them holding hands and he looked at the older man curiously. "Onii-chan?" Haruka asked, glancing back at his friends who were walking ahead. "You go on, Haru. I'll catch up in a minute." Kou told the boy and let go of his hand. "Oh, okay." Haruka said, still wondering why Kou stopped and feeling a little sad that Kou let go of his hand. Just like Kou had become more possessive of the boy, Haruka would be a little lonely when he wasn't with Kou. It wasn't like he was horribly upset, but sometimes he would miss feeling Kou's warmth and being able to be close to him. Haruka shook his head and scolded himself for acting like a lovestruck maiden, as he caught up with his friends that were looking at other stands.<p>

Kou took the opportunity to look at the different pieces of jewelry sitting on the booth's table. He was looking for the ring that had caught his attention and would, every once in awhile, check to make sure the others were still in sight. Kou found the shiny ring he was looking for and picked it up, holding it close to his face. The ring had a thin silver band and there was one dark blue gem on the top and surrounded by a smaller blue jewel on each side that were a shade lighter. The reason Kou noticed the ring was because the gems on it reminded him of his and Haruka's eyes. His own were a very dark blue, like indigo, and Haruka's were also dark, but a lighter blue. Kou pondered about whether or not he should buy it as a present for Haruka. He thought it was a good idea, but would the boy even like it? Or, would he prefer something else? For a second, Kou thought the ring was too feminine for Haruka, but then he thought about how the boy wears an earring, so maybe he would wear a regular ring, too. Finally deciding, Kou told the person at the booth he would like to buy the ring and, spending almost all of the money he brought, was hoping Haruka would like it.

"Onii-chan, you're back." Haruka said, as he turned around and Kou ran up to him. Kou noticed that Haruka was standing by himself and saw the rest of their friends up ahead. "Haru, you didn't have to wait for me. I told you to go ahead." Kou responded and grabbed Haruka's hands, but quickly let go. "Your hands are freezing, Haru. Were you waiting long?" Kou asked and warmed the boy's hands up by holding them in his. "No, it wasn't long. I just wanted to make sure you didn't lose us." Haruka told him and looked away, blushing slightly as he said, "Plus, I want to be with you..." Kou looked down at the boy in surprise and felt it slowly turn into happiness, as he let out a small sigh. Without a warning, Kou turned Haruka's face back to his and kissed him soundly. Haruka closed his eyes and kissed Kou back, tightening his grip on the man's hands. In that moment, when he pulled back from the kiss, Kou felt the same feeling from earlier when he saw Haruka back at Akira's house. He wanted to hold Haruka, to kiss him, touch him, and just let the boy know how much he loved him. Interrupting Kou and Haruka's special moment, Kengo yelled, "Kou-nii, Haruka! We got some food, come eat with us!" Kou mentally cursed at his moment with Haruka being disturbed and could see Akira slap Kengo on the back of his head. Apparently, Akira could tell that Kengo interrupted something important and felt the need to hit him for it.

"W-We should go eat. I'm getting kind of hungry." Haruka said, anxious from what just happened with Kou. After Kou broke their kiss, Haruka saw an unfamiliar look in the man's dark eyes and he had a serious, but gentle look on his face that made Haruka's heart race. He was feeling new emotions that he hadn't experienced before and when Haruka saw that expression on Kou, he wanted to kiss the man again. And do even more than that. "Sure, let's go." Kou said, returning to his normal self and pulled Haruka along over to the rest of the group. "Hey, where were you guys?" Kengo asked while snacking on the food they got. "I was just buying something, sorry for leaving like that." Kou explained, sitting down next to Kengo. Shirogane looked at Haruka and wondered why the boy seemed to be off in his own little world. "Haruka-kun, are you alright?" Shirogane put his hand on Haruka's shoulder and looked down at him, curiousness in his eyes. Haruka shook himself out of his daze and looked up at Shirogane. "Yes, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little tired from the cold." The Shin nodded, not fully believing that Haruka was fine, and turned his attention back to Akira. Shirogane found out from Akira about Kou and Haruka's kiss back in Sendai and about their relationship, but hadn't brought it up because he was waiting for them to talk about it themselves. He was happy for Kou and Haruka, but, just like Haruka, was concerned about how the boy's butler would react to it. They'll have to break the news to him carefully, that's for sure.

The time was a little past eight when the gang of friends decided to head back. They had seen all there was to see and were pretty worn out from all the fun they had. Kengo had a stomach ache, like when he did in Sendai, due to all the food he tried and from eating it too fast. Haruka's butler had never seen someone eat as much as Kengo did and it made it hard for him to make sure he got something for Haruka to eat. "Man, that was a lot of fun. We should come here every year." Kengo said, smiling happily and walking in between Akira and Aya. "We could probably make it a tradition to come to this festival every Christmas Eve." Shirogane said, secretly trying to hold Akira's hand. All of the others were agreeing and said they should do that, while Haruka couldn't help but feel a little sad. He knew he would be going back to England in a few days and he wasn't sure if he would be able to come here again next year and he assumed they weren't counting him in as part of the newly founded tradition they came up with. "You, too, Haruka. You should come here with us every year." Haruka looked at Akira, surprise written on his face. "Me?" Haruka questioned, feeling confused since he was positive they weren't including him. "Of course we mean you." Shirogane said, smiling at Haruka. "You're our friend, Haruka." Akira said lastly and gave Haruka one of his proud smiles. Haruka could feel his chest tighten and happiness flood him, as a smile formed on his face. He glanced at Kou next to him, wanting to know if Kou felt the same way. Kou squeezed Haruka's hand, showing that the boy was also his friend and that he cared about him. This was one of the few times in Haruka's life that he had felt overwhelmed with joy and felt like crying happy tears. He held his tears in, but Kou and the others could see that he wanted to cry and how honestly happy Haruka was to be with them.

"Haruka-sama, are you going to spend the night with Kou-san?" Haruka's butler asked once they were walking toward their parked vehicles. "Well, I was thinking about it, but if you don't want me to-" Haruka was stopped short when his butler interrupted him. "Oh, no, it's perfectly fine with me. But, you'll come over to Akira-kun's house in the morning, won't you?" A few days ago, all of the friends decided to do a Secret Santa and planned to have it at Akira's house on Christmas morning. "That's right, we have the Secret Santa to do." Aya said and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly from the cold. Haruka nodded and told his butler that he and Kou would see them in the morning. As Haruka got in the backseat of the car, he could hear Mayu, in her cheerful tone, saying, "I can't wait to see what I get tomorrow!" Pulling out of the space, Kou drove down the road to head back to his place and let out a loud sigh. "That was tiring, wasn't it? Fun, but tiring." Haruka leaned his head back against his seat and made a small noise of agreement. "Yeah, it was. Oh yeah, Onii-chan, what did you buy?" Haruka asked. Kou didn't want to tell Haruka about the present he got him yet, he wanted to keep it a secret until they got back. "Just a little thing I thought was cool." Kou replied, trying to play it off indifferently and not give anything away. "Oh." Haruka responded and didn't have anything else to say on the matter, despite having a feeling that there was more to it. Staring out the car window, Haruka watched the street lights go by and looked up at the dark sky, thinking about how the color was sort of similar to how Kou's eyes looked after he kissed him earlier.

Back at Kou's place, Haruka went into the bathroom to change into his pajamas and Kou was busy putting some Christmas-shaped cookies he had bought the other day on a plate. 'Hopefully Haru isn't full yet.' Kou said to himself and brought the plate out onto the small table in between his three purple couches. Kou quickly went into his bedroom and changed into a pair of pajamas himself. Haruka came back out of the bathroom wearing his aqua colored pajamas and saw the plate with cookies on it. For some reason, they looked really appealing to the boy and he sat down on one of couches, picking up a cookie and eating it. "I guess you were hungry, after all." Haruka heard Kou's voice from the bedroom and watched him walk over to sit down on the couch next to him. "These are pretty good." Kou mused and bit off another piece of a cookie shaped like a snowflake. "Onii-chan, can I see the thing that you bought?" Haruka asked, his curiousity from in the car suddenly increasing. Kou started thinking how he should present the ring to Haruka, without it being too weird. Then again, a twenty five year old man giving an eleven year old boy a ring is pretty weird in the first place.

"Uh, sure. But, before I show you, I want to talk to you, Haru." Kou said and set his unfinished cookie down on the plate. Haruka was even more curious now at why Kou seemed to be serious and wanting to talk to him. The boy knew Kou could be serious at times, but he was used to seeing the flirty and silly Kou more. Seeing Kou's eyes lock with his, Haruka felt a little nervous. He had seen Kou being serious a few times and every time it had made him feel a bit intimidated. Haruka thought back to the time when he was with Akira and Shirogane and he witnessed Shirogane disappearing. His butler had come over and held Haruka, letting him sob into his chest. After Shirogane had finally disappeared, Kou came over to Haruka and had looked very worried, but also relieved, to see Haruka was okay. The boy could still remember the look on Kou's face that he wasn't used to seeing and then being pulled into Kou's embrace. The look on the man's face now was just like the expression he had back then.

"Haru, the thing I bought earlier, I bought for you." Kou said, keeping his eyes on Haruka. "For me?" Haruka asked and absentmindedly fiddled with his earring. 'I wonder why Kou got me something.' He thought and waited for Kou to talk again. "I got you something that I'm not sure if you'll like, but it felt like the right thing to get." Kou told him, finally looking away from Haruka and getting up off the couch. Haruka saw Kou grab a small black box out of his pocket and look at it for a second before saying anything else. "Haru, you know," Kou said a little hesitantly and trying to find the right words, as he looked back at the boy again, "I really love you." Those four words made Haruka's heart flutter. He always got anxious hearing things like that from Kou, but in a pleasant way. "Honestly, I never thought I would fall in love with a young kid like you. But, I'm happy I did. Haru, you're so smart and brilliant for your age. You also are very corageous and, despite the horrible things that happened to you in the past, you're still strong and I admire you for that. Not to mention that you're very kind. Before I knew it, I had fallen in love with you." Kou finished and kept his eyes on Haruka's that looked a bit glassy, due to tears.

"No one has ever said that to me before." Haruka said, doing his best not to start crying, like he had already done so much since he got here. "I always thought nobody would say all those things to me or ever like me again after what I did." Haruka was beyond holding back his tears and felt them sliding down his cheeks. He was overwhelmed, and in a bit of denial, that Kou actually still liked him and was able to say nice things about Haruka, even after he betrayed his friends. "I'll always like you, Haru. No matter what you did in the past or now, I'll always like you. So will Aki, Ken, Aya-chan, and everyone else." More tears fell from Haruka's eyes and he shook his head. "But, how can you? What I did was horrible and I shouldn't deserve for you or anyone else to be this kind to me. Homurabi should have taken me with him..." Kou grasped Haruka's shoulders tightly and forced the boy to look at him. "Don't ever say that. None of us would have wanted that to happen." Kou said, anger in his eyes that Haruka, for the first time, knew was directed at him. The man's eyes softened from anger to determination. "If Homurabi did take you, I would have gone after you to bring you back." Haruka's eyes widened, a few tears falling from his eyelashes. He couldn't believe that Kou said that and Haruka felt the truth in his words. 'I guess...Kou really does love me.' Haruka thought to himself, letting Kou's words sink in.

"I don't want you to think you don't belong here, Haru. You're a friend to all of us and we love you. I love you." Kou said and held onto both of Haruka's hands. "So, please, don't feel that way anymore and just accept the fact that you're loved. And don't let anything make you think otherwise." A dam burst inside Haruka and he threw his arms around Kou's neck, sobbing and feeling genuinely loved for the first time. Kou in return wrapped his arms around Haruka's waist and whispered sweet nothings to reassure the boy and eventually quiet down his crying. "Kou, I love you, too. I-I don't want to leave you and everyone. I want to stay." Haruka cried and clutched tighter onto Kou, who was running his hand through Haruka's hair comfortingly. "You don't have to leave, Haru. You can stay with us, you don't have to worry."

Feeling Haruka's crying slowly come to a stop, Kou lifted Haruka's face up and asked, "Do you want to see what I got you?" Haruka wiped at his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I do." Kou let Haruka keep his small hands on his shoulders, as he opened the small black box. Haruka gasped in delight at the shiny ring inside. "Onii-chan, it's beautiful." Haruka carefully took the ring out of the box and examined it closely, admiring the pretty jewels. Kou felt glad that Haruka liked the ring and took it from the boy. "Let me put it on you." The man said and held Haruka's fingers, slipping the ring onto his right ring finger. Haruka brought his hand up and looked at the ring, which shimmered a little underneath the light on the ceiling. Kou saw a thinking expression on Haruka's face. "What is it?" Kou questioned, playing with the fingers on Haruka's other hand. "This...it sort of feels like we just got engaged." The boy finally said. Kou started laughing and observed Haruka's ring finger with the ring on it. "Do you know why I got this ring for you?" Haruka shook his head in response, taking a guess. "Because it's pretty?"

The older man smiled and brought Haruka's hand close to his mouth. "I got it because the gems remind me of you and myself." It didn't take long for his brilliant mind to understand what Kou meant and Haruka felt loved all over again. Kou was about to say something, but the boy's lips cut him off. Haruka put his arms around Kou's neck again and forced his lips against Kou's. Kou was surprised by Haruka taking the intiative this time, but didn't protest and kissed him back. Tons of new and foreign emotions hit Haruka, as he suddenly wanted Kou to shower him with more love and feel those large hands touch him. Haruka pulled on Kou's neck, forcing the man to fall forward and the boy layed on his back on the couch, his hunger for the Christmas cookies suddenly gone. Kou, feeling confused, started to wonder if Haruka was pushing for something more than just kisses. The man's question was almost completely answered as Haruka grabbed Kou's hands and put them on his sides and urging for Kou to kiss him harder. "Wait, Haru." Kou stopped kissing the boy, causing disappointment for both of them. "Do you want to-" Kou asked, trying to make Haruka finish it for him and find out exactly what the boy was hinting at.

Haruka blushed and turned his head to the side, feeling the material of the couch against his cheek. Kou could tell Haruka was having trouble saying what he wanted, so he had to do it for him. "Haru...are you wanting me to make love to you?" Kou questioned, his eyes slightly widened and looking down at the boy. Haruka's blush darkened and looked back at Kou, not quite meeting his eyes. Haruka knew practically nothing about sex, but had read a little about it in some book he checked out of a library in England. The boy was aware of a few different terms for sex and knew what it was, but not how people, including two guys, do it. He was very uneducated about making love. Despite that, he wanted Kou to show him and experience the new, wonderful feelings that he had yet to comprehend. "Yes. I...I want you to make love to me, Kou." Kou's eyes grew even wider and was trying to process the fact that his innocent, eleven year old Haruka just told him he wants to have sex. Truth be told, Kou had thought about having sex with Haruka and wanted to, but another part of him said he shouldn't. The boy below him was only eleven years old and it's illegal for him to have sex with a minor. But, looking down at Haruka who had nothing but pure love and a bit of lust in his blue eyes, Kou ignored all the thoughts telling him not to do it and wanted nothing more than to share this moment with the boy he loved so much.

"Okay, Haru." Kou said, staring at Haruka and confirming the boy's wish. "I love you." Kou told Haruka, as he leaned down and kissed him hard. Haruka moaned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Kou's back. Kou could feel his lust growing at the thought of having sex with Haruka and getting to touch him. He picked the young Haruka up, carrying him into his bedroom and layed him down on the bed. Kou quickly shut the door and wasted no time in getting back on top of Haruka, kissing him once again. Concern invaded Kou's mind just then and pulled back from the kiss. "What's wrong?" Haruka asked, desperate for Kou to keep kissing him. "Are you sure you want to do this, Haru?" Kou asked, starting to feel guilty that he was about to take the virginity of a pure eleven year old boy. Haruka smiled a little and cupped the sides of Kou's face with his hands. "Yes, I'm sure. I love you, Kou, and that's all that matters to me." Kou's guilt faded away in an instant and returned Haruka's smile. "I love you so much, Haru." Kou said and kissed Haruka's forehead, then his lips. This would definitely be a night neither of them would ever forget...

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><p><strong>The lemon will be in the next chapter, so, in case there are some people who aren't comfortable with reading a shota sex scene, you can skip to chapter six once I post it. But, for those of you who want to read the Kou x Haruka sex scene, then I'll do my best to make it hot. It's going to be my first time writing a lemon scene, so I'm a bit nervous, but I think it will be okay. I've read a ton of Yaoi sex fanfics and I know a fairly good amount of things, so I should be fine. XD I hope you liked this chapter and are looking forward to the final chapters. Feedback is appreciated, ciao! ^-^<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**WARNING: This chapter contains a shota sex scene. For those that don't know, that means sex between an older man and an underage boy. If you don't like that kind of stuff, then please don't read or flame me for it. I'm a fan of shota and like it, and I don't see anything wrong with it. Just because I like shota, doesn't mean I'm okay with rape involving kids or anything like that. I don't like nonconsensual sex or think it should be supported. I'm very loose about love and I believe that you can't help who you fall in love with. If that happens to be a relationship between a man and a young boy, then it's fine with me. Just as long as they both love each other and there's no rape involved, it's okay. I've given my reasoning, so if you read this and bash me for it, it's not my fault. I gave a warning and if you let me like what I like, I'll let you like what you like. Really, there's no need for unnecessarily rude comments, is there? For those of you who do like shota, then I hope you enjoy this. :)**

**Series: Monochrome Factor**

**Pairings: Kou x Haruka, Shirogane x Akira (they're not in this chapter, though.)**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai and Shota**

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><p>Kou and Haruka were both staring at each other, love in their eyes. The older of the two was still having trouble believing that he was in this moment with the boy below him. 'I never thought I would get to this point with Haru any time soon.' Kou thought to himself and, leaning down, kissed Haruka softly. Haruka wrapped his arms around Kou's neck and kissed the man back, feeling Kou's hands slide underneath the bottom of his shirt. Kou hesitantly ran his fingertips over Haruka's stomach and, ever so slowly, moved up towards his chest. Haruka let out a pleasant sigh, loving the feeling of Kou's warm hands. "Haru..." Kou said quietly and kissed Haruka's cheek.<p>

Moving his hands out from under Haruka's shirt, Kou proceeded to unbutton the boy's pajama top. Haruka could feel a blush coming onto his face, embarrassed that Kou was undressing him. Kou, himself, felt a little nervous. He had taken off Haruka's shirt once before, but that was when he was asleep. Knowing that Haruka was awake this time and watching him, made Kou a bit anxious. That wasn't going to make him stop, though. Kou finished unbuttoning Haruka's shirt and opened it, admiring his small, pale chest like he had that night. The boy felt self-conscious about what Kou would think of his body and fidgeted as the man just kept staring at him. "I-Is something wrong?" Haruka asked, afraid of Kou's answer. "Sorry. It's just-it looks so soft." Kou responded and bent down to place a kiss on Haruka's stomach. Haruka gasped slightly and shivered at the multiple kisses Kou placed on him. Working his way up to the top of Haruka's chest, Kou took one of the boy's nipples in his mouth and sucked on it.

Haruka gasped again, louder this time, and arched his back, grabbing onto the back of Kou's head. He let out a small cry and hugged Kou's head closer to his chest, feeling the man keep licking the pink bud. "O-Onii-chan...t-that's-" Haruka cut off, letting out another small yelp of pleasure and rolling his head back against the pillow, starting to pant. Haruka's panting and his fast, little moans were doing a great job at turning Kou on. The man took his lips off Haruka's nipple and sat up, so he could look down at the aforementioned boy. Haruka looked back up at Kou, his cheeks a dark pink and his panting slowing down. Kou grinned and brushed a few strands of hair out of Haruka's eyes. "Was that good?" He asked, causing Haruka to blush more and turn his head to the side. "...Y-Yes.." He replied, still not looking at Kou. The man smiled and took the opportunity to kiss Haruka's neck. The boy moaned as Kou sucked on his neck and left a few marks.

Kou could feel himself hardening at the adorable and sexy noises Haruka was making. Desperate to hear more of Haruka's moans, Kou took his shirt the rest of the way off and then did the same with his own black one. Haruka blushed, staring at Kou's bare chest. The older man, smiling at Haruka, pressed his chest against the boy's. Haruka sighed again, loving the feeling of skin on skin. Haruka ran his fingers through Kou's hair, kissing him and trying to press his chest as close to the man's as he could. Kou broke their kiss to, carefully, slide his hands down to the young boy's pants and watch his face for any signs of hesitation. Haruka wasn't hesitant, but suddenly felt very embarrassed and held his hands in between his legs to cover himself. This caused Kou to grin, enjoying Haruka's embarrassed reactions. "Haru, it's okay." Kou told him and teasingly rubbed one of his nipples, making Haruka whimper.

Haruka kept his hands in between his legs and pressed them together, still embarrassed greatly at the thought of being touched down there. Kou grasped Haruka's wrists, happy that the boy allowed him to take them away from in between his legs. Haruka finally relaxed enough to put each of his legs on either side of Kou's body and the older man harshly kissed him. Letting go of the thin wrists he was holding, Kou began to pull down the boy's pants. Haruka grasped onto Kou's shoulders tightly and shut his eyes. This was the first time he was being undressed and he knew Kou was going to see him completely naked, so he felt very embarrassed and anxious. Still, Haruka wanted Kou to continue and keep touching him, sending shivers down his spine combined with new feelings.

Getting his pants off, Kou looked down at his little Haruka, who was only left in his underwear. Out of embarrassment, Haruka wrapped his arms around his chest and bent his knees together to try and hide himself. That only made Kou more turned on. 'Why does Haru have to make the most cute and enticing poses?' Kou thought, doing his best not to go animalistic, rip Haruka's boxers off, and just take him like that. Kou wanted to help the boy not feel as self-concious, so he sat up and took off his pants, leaving himself in boxers, as well. "We're the same now, Haru. You don't have to feel worried about anything." Kou said, grasping Haruka's hand and holding it down against the bed, entwining their fingers together. Haruka felt Kou's other hand trace down his neck and a small smile formed on his face. Kou always knew how to make Haruka calm down and feel better.

Kissing the side of Haruka's neck, Kou gently ran one of his hands up the boy's leg. When the man put more of his weight on Haruka, he could feel that he was hard, too. Kou grinned and Haruka was able to tell why; his blush plastering over his cheeks. "Someone's excited." Kou whispered teasingly into Haruka's ear, the boy shuddering. Haruka started to feel lust overcome him and was wanting something, but couldn't exactly figure out what. All he knew is that he wanted Kou's hands to touch him everywhere and show him the things he doesn't understand. Kou, looking at Haruka, saw his eyes were darkened and panting lightly. 'Looks like he's been affected.' Kou said to himself and wanted to give Haruka what he's been seeking.

Kou layed himself fully down on Haruka and aligned his crotch with the boy's, grinding against him. Haruka let out a loud gasp like before and clutched onto Kou's back, feeling them start to set a rhythm. Haruka's legs tried to shut together, but were unable to because of Kou's body in between them and the man's cock rubbing against his own. Kou groaned, rocking with the pre-teen beneath him, who was a panting and moaning mess. He could feel Haruka's hands grasping at his back and his legs squeezing against his sides, as well as his young manhood. Haruka started voicing little gasps as pleasure was sent through his body and at Kou's low moans. Just as Haruka's moaning and whimpering turned Kou on, the man's groans and pants were doing the same to the boy.

Being a tease and not wanting Haruka to cum just yet, Kou stopped his rocking and placed hot kisses across the panting boy's throat. Haruka whined at Kou's kissing and also at the fact the man stopped all of a sudden. Kou could tell Haruka wasn't pleased about taking away the pleasure both of them were feeling, but he had other plans. Kou kissed his way down Haruka's chest, trying to get every inch of the boy's soft, pale skin. Haruka lifted his head to look down at Kou, his heartbeat quickening when he noticed Kou started going lower. The man quickly slipped Haruka's boxers off without a warning, causing the blushing boy to shoot his hands in between his legs again. Kou sat up on his knees, which gave Haruka the chance to close his legs shut. He was embarrassed before, but now that he had nothing left on at all, Haruka was overly embarrassed and couldn't stop the massive blush enshroud his face.

Kou shook his head in disapproval and moved Haruka's hands out of the way. Haruka still had his legs together and wasn't meeting Kou's eyes, but the look on his face clearly stated he wasn't opposed to being touched and, in fact, wanting to be touched. Kou cupped the side of Haruka's face, making the boy look at him. The man gave Haruka a warm smile, assuring him it was going to be okay and that he loved him. Kou then leaned back down and spread Haruka's legs open a little. Ignoring the urge to cover himself yet again, Haruka's blush reflex betrayed him, making him blush harder, knowing he was now exposed to Kou's eyes. Kou got back to kissing Haruka's stomach and trailed his hand's down his soft chest, hearing Haruka's whimpers and his breathing.

Kou kissed down until his head was in between Haruka's legs and he glanced up at the boy, meeting with a bright red face and wide eyes. "K-Kou, what are you-" Haruka barely asked, his heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest. Kou licked the tip of Haruka's cock and enclosed his lips around it. Haruka arched his back and let out a strangled cry of pleasure, feeling a sudden wet, warm sensation. Kou held onto the boy's thighs, keeping him steady as he sucked on Haruka's shaft and bobbed his head. Haruka had his arms resting next to his head and was desperately clawing at the sheets and the pillow above him, writhing in the first indescribable pleasure he had ever felt. Kou listened to Haruka's cries and his heavy panting, continuing to work at sending the boy into ecstasy.

Haruka's loud moans and gasps started to escalate, telling Kou he was about to reach his climax. The man took one last long suck and the boy lost it. "K-Kou...I-I'm-!" Haruka cried out, arching his back, as he came inside Kou's mouth. Sinking back into the bed, Haruka panted, trying to regain his breath and trembling. Kou brought his head up from in between Haruka's legs, licking his lips and seeing the boy's trembling frame. "Haru, are you okay?" Kou asked, caressing Haruka's face. Haruka looked up at Kou, his cheeks red and still panting, noticing the white stuff on Kou's chin. "I-Is that...from me?" Haruka questioned, not indicating what he was talking about, but Kou still knew. Bringing his hand to his chin, Kou came back with cum on his fingers and figured that since he just sucked Haruka off, he shouldn't be afraid to tell him awkward things anymore. "This is stuff that comes out when you're excited and when you release." Kou told him, bringing his fingers to his mouth and licking off Haruka's cum. "And you taste delicious, Haru." Kou said with a grin on his face. Haruka's eyes widened and his cheeks turned scarlet, in shock that Kou was able to do and say such things that were humiliating in his mind.

Kou reached over into the dresser next to his bed and pulled out a small bottle of lube that he kept for the times he would jerk off. Lately, those times had been when he would start fantasizing about Haruka. Kou uncapped the bottle and was waiting for the question he knew Haruka would ask. The question came, Haruka wondering, "What's that for?" The older of the two looked at the boy, then back at the bottle of lube. "It's to make it easier for you and not hurt as much." Kou responded, pouring some of the lube onto his fingers and laying down on top of Haruka again. "It will probably hurt a little at first. If it hurts too much and you want me to stop, then tell me." Kou was worried about hurting the boy and feeling a bit guilty like he had earlier, but when Haruka gave him that sweet smile, he felt that everything would be okay. Bringing his hand down below Haruka, Kou slowly inserted one finger into his entrance. Haruka flinched and gasped in surprise, not expecting to be touched there. "Sorry, it won't hurt as much after awhile." Kou apologized, doing all he could not to make Haruka feel too much pain. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt." Haruka said, only feeling a slight pressure, and calming Kou's nerves down.

Inserting a second finger, Haruka tensed up more this time and felt pain. He did his best not to let Kou know it was hurting and make the man worry or feel bad. Kou scissored his fingers, stretching Haruka and added a third finger. The pain increased and Haruka bit his lower lip, not wanting Kou to see, but he had. Guilt suddenly washed over Kou, but Haruka grasped onto his arms, looking up at him. "I'm okay, Kou. Please, keep going. I want you to." Haruka said, touching the side of Kou's face. Kou held Haruka's hand and kissed it, nodding at the boy. Haruka was panting and squirming a bit as Kou's fingers moved inside him, then he released a moan when Kou pulled them out and shoved them back in. The man was moving his fingers around, trying to find that special spot and once he found it, he pressed on it, hoping to get a good reaction from Haruka. "Aaah!" Haruka cried out, grappling at Kou's arms, the pleasure from his prostate being sent through him.

'Found it.' Kou smirked and stared down at Haruka's face with pleasure written on it and his mouth hanging partly open with flushed cheeks. Once he took his fingers out, Kou got rid of his boxers and repositioned himself, waiting for Haruka to come back from his little heaven. Looking up into Kou's eyes that were darkened by lust so much they almost looked black, Haruka wondered why he had stopped and started to realize what Kou was getting ready for. "Are you ready, Haru?" Kou asked him, feeling nervous about hurting Haruka. The boy nodded and wrapped his arms around Kou's neck, pulling the man down closer to him. "Yes, go ahead." Kou had a look of hesitation and concern on his face, so Haruka tried to let him know it was fine. "I trust you, Kou." Those few words were enough to make Kou let go of his worries and rely soley on Haruka's love and knowing that he trusted him.

Kou slowly pushed his erection inside Haruka's entrance, letting out a shaky breath as he did. Haruka released a breathless cry and, gasping faintly, tightened his arms around Kou's neck, tears forming in his eyes. Kou pulled back just enough to look at Haruka and kissed his cheeks, telling him the pain would only last for a moment. Once he had all of his cock inside Haruka, Kou's breathing was a bit fast and so was Haruka's, combined with small mewls. Waiting a few minutes, Haruka eventually got used to Kou and told him he could move. Kou pulled out, than thrust back into Haruka, causing the boy to let out a few moans. Picking up speed, Haruka pulled Kou against him again and clung onto his neck, crying out with each thrust. Kou panted and groaned, holding onto Haruka as he drove into his heat.

"K-Kou! Ahh!" Kou's thrusts became faster, and Haruka's moans became louder, arching up against the man. "Unh, Haru..." Kou moaned out, gripping Haruka's hips and resting his face in the boy's neck, sucking and kissing it. Haruka tightened his arms around Kou's neck as if his life depended on it and kept panting and moaning, overcome by pleasure every time Kou hit his prostate. The man wrapped his arms around Haruka's waist and sat up, pulling the boy into his lap. Haruka gasped, suddenly being picked up and his already red blush darkened as he started bouncing on Kou's lap. Thrusting up into Haruka's heat, Kou kept his arms around his waist, while Haruka had his arms around Kou's neck and his small hands tangled in the older man's hair. "K-Kou...please, harder!" Kou almost climaxed right then, hearing those words come from Haruka, and obliged the boy, tightening his grip and thrusting harder, hitting his prostate.

"K-...Kou, I-I love...you." Haruka panted out, tears falling down his reddened cheeks from all the pleasure and love he was feeling at once. "I love you, too, Haru." Kou panted just as Haruka had and thrust a few more times into the boy who he thought about and filled his mind all the time. Kou could tell when Haruka was close because of his moans and cries getting louder. He was also about to come to his end and he passionately kissed Haruka, reaching in between Haruka's thighs, grasping his erection and pumping it fast. Haruka started gasping into the kiss and broke away from it. "N-No, don't! Kou! S-Something's...happening...Ah!" Kou managed to thrust up one more time inside Haruka before they both lost control. Two screams sounded throughout the room as both of them reached their climax.

Haruka was sitting still on Kou's lap, shivering violently, the aftermath of his orgasm rolling over him and gasping for air. Kou panted and reveled in his orgasm, just like Haruka, and collapsed forward, falling on top of the boy. Haruka wrapped his arms around Kou's back, hugging the man and the two of them regaining their breath. "I love you so much, Haru." Kou said once he sat up and kissed Haruka lovingly, running his hands through the other's hair. Haruka whispered the sentiment back to Kou and hugged Kou to his chest again, holding onto the man's head and twirling a strand around his fingers. Kou lifted his head from Haruka's chest and saw that he was still wearing the ring. "Haru...you wore the ring the whole time?" Kou questioned, holding Haruka's fingers and touching the shiny ring. "Oh, I guess I forgot to take it off." Haruka responded and allowed Kou to fondle with his hand. For some reason, Haruka wearing the ring while they made love had Kou feeling happy and warm inside. He couldn't place why, but it felt to him that they truly and deeply love each other.

Neither of them had anything else to say and were tired from the exertion, so Kou got off Haruka and pulled the covers over them, letting the boy snuggle up to his chest. Kou layed his head down on one of the pillows and wrapped both of his arms protectively around Haruka, wanting to hold him there forever. "Onii-chan?" Haruka asked, referring to Kou with his nickname again. "Hmm?" Kou responded sleepily and looked down at Haruka. "Thank you. For everything." Kou got a confused expression on his face. "What do you mean?" He asked, absentmindedly playing with Haruka's fingers and the ring. "I mean, thanks for loving me and being so nice to me, after all that's happened. You made me feel loved for the first time and I'm just happy to be with you." Haruka's words sunk into Kou's heart and he kissed the boy, like he had so many times already. "You don't have to thank me, Haru. I did all that because I love you and I always will. Nothing's going to change it." Kou said, keeping his face close to Haruka's. "Really?" Haruka questioned, a hint of doubt in his eyes and wanting to know if Kou meant what he said. "Yes, really. You're the most important thing to me, Haru." Kou replied and kissed Haruka's forehead softly, pulling him closer to his chest.

Haruka sighed, all of his doubts vanishing and wanting nothing more than to be held by Kou. "I love you." Kou smiled and nodded, not feeling he needed to say it back, since he knew Haruka was already aware of the man's love for him. "Goodnight, Haru." Kou whispered and held one of Haruka's hands in his, while shutting his eyes. Haruka was sure that after this night, he won't have nightmares anymore and will always be by Kou's side, no matter what. He will feel Kou's warm arms around him, hold his large hand with his small one, kiss him, be touched by him, and, above all else, love him and be loved back just as equally.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed my first Kou x Haruka lemon, as well as my first sex scene. I think it turned out pretty well, considering it was my first time writing a lemon and that I kept getting so embarrassed while typing. XD Oh, and, yeah, I'm a complete sap. I'm aware of it and I don't deny it. It's who I am; I just love fluff and sweet moments too much. ^w^ Feedback is appreciated and I'm going to do my best to have chapter six up tomorrow. Ciao~<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay on this chapter. My goal was to post chapter six yesterday on Christmas Eve, since the setting of this chapter takes place on Christmas morning, but I didn't have time. Some family members came over for Christmas Eve dinner and I was busy before that, so I didn't have much time to work on it. But, I finished it today and it's still the 25th for a few more hours, so I think it's okay. :) I apologize if this chapter seems a bit weird or sloppy at some parts. I have a cold and I'm a bit out of it, but I still wanted to finish this and I hope you enjoy it. ^-^**

**Series: Monochrome Factor**

**Pairings: Kou x Haruka, Shirogane x Akira**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy) and Shota (an older man with a young boy).**

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><p>Haruka awoke early in the morning and looked up, seeing Kou sleeping peacefully. The boy smiled a little, loving to be held by Kou when he slept. Just then, the things they did a few hours before flooded Haruka's mind and he blushed madly. He remembered Kou's hands touching him and teasing him, practically forcing sounds out of his mouth that Haruka never knew he could produce. Whiteness caught Haruka's attention and he looked over at the window that was behind Kou, seeing small snowflakes falling outside. "It's snowing..." He said outloud, causing Kou to blink his eyes open. Kou was a pretty light sleeper and the sound of the boy's voice woke him up. "Haru, why are you awake?" Kou asked, a bit of tiredness in his voice, and brushed Haruka's hair out of his face. "It's snowing, Onii-chan." Haruka said, still staring at the window.<p>

Kou turned back enough to see the frosted window and watched the little flakes fall down. "So it is." Kou stated, turning back to Haruka in his arms. "You've seen snow before, haven't you?" Kou was curious about why the boy looked so happy to see it snowing and wondered if maybe he hadn't seen snow before. "I have, but-" Haruka started, looking at Kou, "It's my first time seeing snow with you." He said, giving Kou a sweet smile. It was times like this that made Kou realize what one of the things he loved about Haruka was: his smile. The man kissed Haruka's cheeks, forehead, nose, and his lips, thinking how adorable he was. Suddenly realizing that it was the morning of December 25th, Kou said, "Merry Christmas, Haru." Haruka said the same thing back and snuggled against Kou's chest, not wanting to get up yet. Kou allowed himself to cuddle with Haruka a bit longer and thoughts went through his mind, thinking that he wasn't even worried about how things would go over with the others later. He just enjoyed cuddling with Haruka in his arms and layed in a comfortable silence with him.

After both Kou and Haruka got up half an hour later, things were a bit awkward. To start off, Kou pulled the covers up, looking down to see the mess he and Haruka had made. Since they fell asleep right after, they didn't bother to clean themselves or put back on their clothes. A few minutes of embarrassment for Haruka passed, as Kou helped wipe him down and also, while grinning, asked if the boy wanted to have sex again. Haruka hit him with a pillow in reply, blushing darkly. More awkwardness was added when Haruka got up from the bed and he wobbled over a bit, feeling a sore pain in his lower body. Kou had to keep himself from laughing and felt bad for Haruka, knowing he was too rough the night before. 'Well, Haru seemed to enjoy it, though.' Kou thought to himself, remembering how much the boy moaned and how loud he was, clear pleasure on his face. The man forced himself not to get turned on from thinking about Haruka and prepared breakfast for the two of them, while said boy went to take a shower.

Breakfast was pretty normal, despite the fact that things had definitely changed between Kou and Haruka. Their relationship is still the same and so are their personalities, but there's more of a closeness between them. They've made love and now, more than ever, want to be near each other. Their relationship has gotten even stronger and both of them are glad that things are still the same. Besides the fact that Haruka is no longer a virgin. Kou felt guilty at the thought of taking away Haruka's virginity, since he's only eleven years old, but he doesn't feel as bad as he thought he would because he knows that the boy is happy and isn't regretting anything. "Onii-chan, your phone's ringing." Kou was taken away from his (perverted) thoughts about Haruka for the moment, walking over to grab his cellphone and answer it.

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><p>In the living room of Akira's house, Kengo and Mayu were arguing like a typical brother and sister over something stupid, while the butler was talking on the phone with Kou, completely unaware of what had happened between Haruka and the man last night. "Merry Christmas to you, as well, Kou-san. Is Haruka-sama okay?" There was a pause and, just like every other time the butler asked that question, sighed slightly with relief that Haruka was fine. "Okay then, we'll be looking forward to seeing the two of you. Goodbye." The butler said in his formal tone and believing that everything was the same, which, not known to him, isn't very true. There is no doubt at all that it will be hard to break the news to the old man about Kou and Haruka's relationship.<p>

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><p>"Geez, now I know how Haru must feel about telling his butler about us..." Kou said, wishing right then he didn't have to tell their friends about him dating Haruka and the expected beating he would get from Aya. "Did you say something, Kou?" Haruka asked, standing behind the man and wearing yet another "sexy" outfit. Kou admired Haruka's tan jeans that hugged his legs nicely and his white button-up longsleeve shirt that was covered by a red and green argyle vest to match the holiday season. "Oh, nothing. Your butler just called and said he's excited to see us." Kou told him, slipping on Haruka's jacket and scarf, then opening the front door. "Ready to go?" Haruka smiled a bit and nodded, grabbing onto Kou's arm. Kou was really starting to like the boy's new found affection and was hoping it would last.<p>

Once Kou and Haruka arrived at Akira's house, Mayu was the first one to run out and hug Haruka, almost making fall over, just like before. "Merry Christmas, Haruka-chan~!" Mayu squealed excitedly, hugging Haruka to her chest. Kou got a bit jealous, but it went away when Kengo came out and got Mayu off of the boy. "Nee-chan, you really need to stop doing that." Kengo scolded his sister, who kept trying to hug Haruka again. "Kou-nii, Haruka, Merry Christmas!" Kengo said, who had a Santa hat on his head, and becoming happy again. "Merry Christmas, Ken." Kou said back, pulling Haruka to his side and reaching a hand out to ruffle Kengo's hair. "So, how was Christmas Eve for you guys?" Kou questioned, wanting to get Haruka inside quickly so Mayu wouldn't smother him with hugs.

"It was nice, we had a fun time." Aya commented, as she stepped outside to greet Kou and Haruka. "Except for when Kengo spilled hot chocolate all over me." Aya cut a glare at the mentioned boy, who gave her a nervous smile in return. "It was an accident and I said I was sorry." Kengo replied, rubbing at the back of his head. Changing the subject, Kengo kept his gaze on Aya, asking, "Oh yeah. Where's Akira?" Kou shoved one hand in his pocket, glancing inside the house from where he stood in front of the doorway. "He's probably making out with Shirogane." Kou guessed, smirking and thinking it was possibly accurate. "I heard that!" Akira yelled from inside the house, walking outside and crossing his arms together. "There you are, Aki! So, was I right?" Kou was purposefully trying to make Akira angry because he loves to tease him so much and make him mad. Akira scoffed and narrowed his eyes. "No, I wasn't making out with Shirogane." Despite his cold attitude, Kou could see the small blush on Akira's cheeks and smiled, deciding to leave the subject alone.

"How cruel, Akira-kun. You don't need to lie." Shirogane said in his flirting voice and swiftly came up behind Akira, putting one hand on the teen's shoulder, while his other touched Akira's cheek. Swatting Shirogane's hands away, Akira warmed up and smiled at Haruka, remembering that he forgot to say hi. "Hey, Haruka. Merry Christmas." Haruka smiled back and nodded at Akira. "Come on in guys, you'll freeze out here." Aya interrupted, gesturing for Kou and Haruka to come in with the rest of them. Just when Haruka wondered where his butler was, the man came up to him and grasped his arms gently. "Merry Christmas, Haruka-sama. Did you have a fun Christmas Eve with Kou-san last night?" A blush quickly rose to Haruka's face at the butler's question and looked up at Kou next to him. Kou could tell right away why the boy was blushing and he winked down at him. Haruka blushed even more, looking back at his butler. "Yeah, I was fine." He blatantly said, not able to come up with a better answer. "I think you were more than fine, Haru." Kou said, smirking at Haruka and hinting at what only the two of them knew. By now, Haruka's blush had turned a deep red on his pale cheeks, flustered at Kou's teasing. He pulled on Kou's arm, walking toward the living room, leaving the butler with a puzzled expression on his face.

Everyone had already eaten and, because of Kengo's begging, started the Secret Santa. Kengo got to open his present first and was elated at getting a box of chocolates that came with a few others sweets. Aya was the one who had to buy something for Kengo and she made the perfect choice by getting him treats. As for the aforementioned girl, Aya's present was a few little flower hairclips and a new wooden kendo sword. Aya might not be the girliest, but she has her moments, and Mayu was aware of that. So, she got Aya something a little girlie and also something that she knows Aya will use. Kou and Kengo weren't that happy about Aya getting a sword, since they were both frequently victims of being hit with her weapon. Still, even though Kou and Kengo were scared, Aya was very happy with her present and wanted to give the person who gave it to her a hug.

More presents were opened, all of the friends excited about their gifts. Haruka couldn't help but wonder what he was going to get and who got it for him. A present was placed in front of Haruka on the ground, drawing the boy's attention and he looked next to him at who put it there. "This one has your name on it, Haru." Kou said happily, trying not to let Haruka know he bought it for him and keep it a secret. The boy slowly took off the bright colored paper with Christmas trees on it and opened the box. Taking out the gift, Haruka stared at the black picture frame with a picture of himself and Kou inside it. "Well, I guess you already know who it's from." Kou said, chuckling and moved closer to Haruka, pointing at the picture. "It's a photo of you and I from a few months ago. I've had that picture in my house all this time and decided to get it framed. I know it's nothing special, but I thought you might like it." Haruka had to resist the urge to kiss Kou, knowing it wouldn't be a good idea to have everyone suddenly find out that way. It may seem like a simple gift to other people, but to Haruka it was the sweetest gift he had ever gotten.

"No, it's not nothing special. It's so thoughtful, Onii-chan." Haruka touched Kou's hand that was on the floor next to him, showing the man he really loved the gift. Once again, Haruka looked at the photo of him and Kou. The picture was of Kou standing beside Haruka with his arm draping over the boy's shoulders and smiling his usual big grin, while Haruka had a small smile on his face. "Thank you." Haruka said, smiling. Kou squeezed Haruka's hand in his own, also wanting to kiss him, but going with his better judgment. Akira looked over to see Kou and Haruka holding hands, both of them looking happy. He was glad that they were together and he could see how much they loved each other, just by their expressions. Shirogane noticed where Akira's eyes were and smiled softly, feeling happy for them, as well. Hoping not to be rejected, Shirogane moved his hand on top of Akira's, indicating for the high schooler to hold his hand. Akira normally would have pushed Shirogane away, just like when they first met, but this time he hesitantly grabbed the Shin's hand.

Shirogane's eyes widened a bit, delighted and surprised that Akira hadn't told him to knock it off or to stop messing around. He clasped Akira's hand and smiled at him, seeing his annoyed face with a pink blush. Even if it took Akira awhile to fully return Shirogane's feelings, he was perfectly fine just to be this way, by Akira's side. "Akira-kun, do you like your present?" Shirogane asked casually, wanting to know if the boy liked the gift he got him. "Yeah, it's pretty cool." Akira responded, looking at the black choker in his hands with a couple rhinestones on it. "Akira, don't you think it looks a little gay?" Shirogane and Akira turned their eyes to Kengo, each with a surprised expression on their face. Akira was suddenly amused and looked Kengo up and down. "My necklace is gay? Look at _you_!" Kengo had let Mayu mess with him again and he had a big flower clip in his hair, along with a pink beaded bracelet around his wrist.

"Yeah, Ken, if anything or anyone looks gay, you do. But, it actually suits you in an odd way." Kou said, wondering why Kengo could pull off the jewelry so well. "I think so, too." Haruka added in, still holding his picture. "See, Kengo? I told you that you look good!" Mayu complimented Kengo, working on putting more things on her brother. "Alright-" Master said, stopping the conversation, "If everyone is done opening their presents, don't you think we should do something with Haruka-kun since it's his final days here?" The others were all in agreement to do some kind of activity and announcing their ideas, when Shirogane offered an idea. "What if Haruka-kun chooses what we do today? He hasn't really gotten to pick something for himself yet." All eyes looked at Haruka and the boy started to ponder what he would like to do.

"Well, I would like to play outside and see the snow. It's been awhile since I've gotten to see it." Haruka said shyly, hoping his friends were okay with it. "That sounds like a great idea! I want to play in the snow and make snow angels. Come on, Haruka!" Kengo said, full of energy, and grabbed Haruka's hand, pulling the boy up from his seat on the floor. Before getting a chance to say anything, Kengo had gotten his jacket on, along with Haruka, and dragged the boy outside. "Hey, Ken! Don't just take Haru away from me like that!" Kou whined, getting up and quickly putting on his coat, running out after the two. The rest of the group got ready, the butler desperately trying to be the first one out to get to Haruka.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" Aya exclaimed, looking around at the snow-covered objects around them and up at the sky. Kengo was holding out his tongue, catching snowflakes on it, and unsuspectingly got hit in his chest by a snowball. Kengo looked to find the attacker and saw Akira laughing at him. Glaring playfully, Kengo made a snowball and hurled it at Akira, only to have the boy move and hit the back of Aya's head. "Ow! What was-" Aya stopped, turning around to see Kengo covering his mouth and his eyes wide. Aya narrowed her eyes and raised her wooden kendo sword that she, for some reason, brought out with her. Kengo ran as fast as he could, with Aya chasing after him, and saying "I'm sorry" over and over. Haruka giggled, watching Aya angrily hunt Kengo down. "Haru~" The boy felt two gloved hands cover his eyes, as a warm chest pressed close to his back. "Guess who." Haruka could tell by the voice and the feeling of his tall body that it was Kou behind him.

"Onii-chan." Grabbing onto the hands over his eyes, Haruka turned around, coming face to face with a smiling Kou. "You got it right." Kou said and clasped the sides of Haruka's face. "Haru, your nose is all red." Kou chuckled at Haruka's reddish nose, due to the cold air, and at how the boy looked curious while touching his nose. "It's pretty, isn't it?" Haruka blinked and for a second wondered what Kou was talking about, then realized he meant the white snow. "I've always found it amazing no snowflake is alike. They're different and unique." Kou stated, looking up at the falling snow, a few flakes landing on his face. Haruka looked up with Kou, suddenly feeling a hand cup the side of his face, making him look back. "Just like you." Kou finished, gently rubbing his thumb over Haruka's cheek. The boy felt his heart flutter, which happened every time Kou said something like that to him, and blushed, the redness on his nose getting a bit darker.

"Why do you always say embarrassing stuff like that?" Haruka asked, still blushing and looking away from Kou. The older man smiled, moving his hand from Haruka's cheek down to his small hand and holding it loosely. "Because I can and because I can't help but say sweet things to you." Kou said, pulling on Haruka's hand and letting go to wrap his arm around the boy's waist, walking slowly along next to him. "Plus, I'm just a big sap when it comes to romance." Kou already accepted that fact about himself and Haruka smiled a little at him admitting it. "If you don't want me to say those kinds of things to you anymore, I won't." The man said, but not actually sure if he would be able to stop and also pretty positive that Haruka did like the flirty things he said. "No...I don't mind if you say them." Haruka replied, not wanting to confess he loves it when Kou says those sappy lines. Kou smiled again, tightening his grip on Haruka and leaning down toward him. "Good, because even if you wanted me to stop, I don't plan to." Haruka lightly smacked Kou's chest with the back of his hand, giggling when Kou started laughing at his weak hit. Seeing the white flurry snowflakes fall all around them and watch his friends playing, Haruka felt glad he was surrounded by such wonderful, crazy, and kind people...

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><p><strong>Here ends chapter six! I'm going to get started on chapter seven tomorrow, as long as my cold doesn't get worse. Which, hopefully it doesn't. Being sick or having a cold isn't fun. D8 Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter and are looking forward to the final ones. I might write one more sex scene for Kou and Haruka before I end the story because the first one I wrote was a lot of fun. OwO Feedback is appreciated, ciao~<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, guys! Sorry for the late update on my story. I wanted to post this chapter sooner, but I was having a bit of trouble coming up with what to do next. Luckily, I finally came up with an idea and I just finished writing this. I looked up New Year's Eve in Japan and it was good I did because it's not exactly the same as it is here in America. I also found out some interesting facts. For example: when it turns midnight on December 31st, all the Buddhist temples in Japan ring their bells 108 times to symbolize the 108 human sins in Buddhist belief, and to get rid of the 108 worldly desires regarding sense and feeling in every Japanese citizen. I thought that was really cool and that's why I had Shirogane mention the bells. So, I plan to write chapter eight tomorrow and have it up, hopefully, the same day. Enjpo chapter seven! ^-^**

**Series: Monochrome Factor**

**Pairings: Kou x Haruka, Shirogane x Akira**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy) and shota (an older man with a younger boy). **

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><p>Four days have passed since Christmas when Haruka was playing around in the snow with his friends and the boy was feeling saddened. Today is the 29th and he's returning to England tomorrow morning. Haruka really wished he didn't have to go back because it felt like time had flown by so fast. He liked England, but it didn't compare to how much more fun he had being with his friends in Japan. Getting up from his seat by the window, Haruka walked over to his butler in Akira's kitchen, who was preparing some hot chocolate. "Haruka-sama," the butler said, turning his attention to the boy that entered the kitchen, "do you need something?" Haruka moved closer to his butler and stood next to him, watching the hot cocoa being prepared. "I was thinking that I wish we didn't have to leave tomorrow." Haruka replied, a bit of sadness in his voice.<p>

The elder hated to see Haruka sad and he sighed, stirring one of the drinks. "I thought you might feel that way...so, I don't think it will cause any problems if we stay here a little longer." Haruka blinked in surprise and looked up at his butler, meeting with the man smiling at him, which made Haruka suddenly fill up with happiness. Hugging his butler, Haruka said, "Thank you! I'm really happy that you're letting us stay longer." The butler was taken aback at the boy's sudden hug, not used to such affection from him, but felt glad at how happy he was and lightly hugged him back. "You're welcome, Haruka-sama. I was thinking that we could stay until the first day of the New Year. Does that sound good?"

Haruka was in agreement and happy at the idea of spending the new year with all his friends. He was wondering if their extended time here would cause problems at their home back in England, but his butler told him he had worked things out and all the maids were put off-duty for now. Haruka told his butler thank you one more time and patiently waited for Akira and the others to wake up, so he could tell them the good news. It was fairly early in the morning, and the excited boy and his butler were the only two awake at the moment. Haruka sat back in his chair by the window, watching the snow fall outside and huddled up with his hot chocolate, waiting for Akira to get up and watch for Kou's car.

About thirty minutes later, Haruka saw Akira walk out into the living room, still wearing his pajamas and rubbing at one eye. "Haruka, you're already up?" Akira asked, looking over at Haruka by the window. "Akira, I have great news." Haruka said, getting up from his chair and walking up to the older boy. "My butler allowed me to stay here for a few more days and I get to spend New Year's with you and everyone." Akira smiled widely, one of the few times Haruka had seen the teen's incredibly happy smile. "That's great, Haruka!" Akira responded, wrapping one arm around Haruka's back and pulling him into a hug. Haruka giggled, holding onto his friend and seeing Kengo and Aya walk out into the room. "Did you guys hear? Haruka's going to stay with us until New Year's." Akira told the two other teenagers and saw them get smiles on their faces.

"Hooray! Haruka gets to hang out with us more!" Kengo exclaimed, joining in on Akira hugging the small boy. "We're really looking forward to spending more time with you, Haruka-kun." Aya said, smiling sweetly and feeling Mayu come up and hug her from behind. "I'm so happy, too!" Mayu added in, squealing and tightly hugging Aya, who looked to be loosing breath. "Nee-chan, shouldn't that hug be for Haruka?" Kengo asked, but suddenly regretting it as Mayu let go of Aya and started squeezing Haruka. "Now, now. We don't want Haruka-kun to die before he even gets the chance to tell the rest of us his good news." Shirogane said, coming out with his usual kind smile and putting a hand on Haruka's shoulder, to pull him away from Mayu. The Shin already heard about the change of plans and, along with Master who just followed him out, was glad about the opportunity for them to spend more time together as a group. "Kou-nii's here, Haruka." Akira stated, looking over at the window and knowing that's who the boy had been waiting to see. Haruka turned his attention to the window where he was sitting by earlier and ran up to the door, opening it for Kou to come inside.

"Good morning, Haru. You saw me already, huh?" Kou questioned, grinning at Haruka and walking up to the doorway, looking down at him. Haruka nodded, smiling a little up at Kou and really wanting to tell him about what's happened. "Kou, I have to tell you something." The man knit his eyebrows in confusion, trying to think about what Haruka could be about to tell him. "What is it?" He asked, brushing away a snowflake that fell onto Haruka's cheek from the top of the doorway. "I'm not leaving tomorrow, after all. I'm going to celebrate New Year's with you and the others." Kou's eyes widened and he got a huge smile on his face. "That's wonderful, Haru!" Kou said, hugging Haruka, and ignoring the shocked expressions from Aya and the butler inside the house. Haruka hugged him back and smiled into his shoulder, feeling joy that Kou was happy as well.

"Alright you love birds, break it up and come in before you freeze." Akira said, sort of using his knowledge of Kou and Haruka's relationship to tease them about it. The two came inside the house, Kou taking off his long black coat and hanging it up, a bit of snow falling off and onto the floor. "Who would like hot chocolate?" Master offered, since it was cold outside and thought some people might want to warm up. Everyone said they wanted hot chocolate and Master went into the kitchen with Haruka's butler to make it, leaving the rest of the friends to relax and talk amongst themselves.

A few minutes into their conversation about what they should do for New Year's Eve, Master and Haruka's butler came back out to join them, handing out the hot chocolate. "I can't wait to eat all kinds of delicious food on New Year's Day." Kengo said, licking his lips at the thought and being hit on the back of his head by Aya. "Why is it always about food with you?" Aya asked, leaning back against the couch. "I'm looking forward to hearing the bells being rung from the temples. It's always a nice sound to hear." Shirogane commented casually from his spot next to Akira and smiling. "That reminds me," Master said, suddenly realizing something, "we need to buy some food to cook for dinner on that night." Haruka's butler stood up from his seat and offered to go out with Master to buy the food. None of the others seemed to want to go out to buy food for the meal, so Master and the butler decided to go by themselves. "Haruka-sama, we'll be back soon. Please be careful while we're gone." Haruka's butler told the boy, shifting his eyes at Kou, indicating what he meant.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't get Haru pregnant or anything." Kou said, wrapping both his arms around Haruka from behind and smirking at the butler. Akira stifled a laugh, while Haruka blushed, surprised at the mention of Kou impregnating him, and Aya glared at Kou. The butler ignored Kou's response, not sure what to say to that, and left with Master, saying they would be back soon. "You lecher. Don't you dare lay your hands on Haruka-kun." Aya threatened Kou, holding her kendo sword and twirling it. Kou put his hands up in defense, letting go of Haruka. "Hey, no need to act so cold, Aya-chan." Kou replied, sitting down on the couch, taking out a cigarette. Aya got mad at Kou again for trying to smoke and smacked the stick out of his hand. "You shouldn't smoke in here. Besides, it's not appropriate to do that around a child." Aya scolded, referring to the boy who was still faintly blushing about what Kou had said to his butler.

The man apologized, agreeing it wasn't a good idea and adjusted his glasses. "Haru, come sit down." He said, patting the seat next to him. Haruka shook his thoughts away and walked over to Kou. Said person grabbed Haruka's wrist and pulled him down to sit beside him. Haruka yelped a little at Kou's forcefull pull and felt an arm wrap around his shoulders, pressed snuggly against Kou's side. Aya wasn't too happy about the position they were in next to her, but didn't say anything about it, just giving a small glare at the smiling Kou. "I'm going to turn on the T.V. because it's too quiet." Kengo said, after a few minutes, not liking the silence he and his friends were in and picking up the remote beside him, hitting the power button. Some television show was put on that everybody, except Kou, was paying attention to. The man's dark eyes were fixed on the boy against him, watching his adorable face glued to the T.V., but not really seeming to be interested.

Kou contemplated the idea of messing with Haruka and knew it wasn't a bright idea at all, but couldn't resist. He hadn't gotten to see Haruka's blush as much he wanted to today, so he was thinking about changing that. Carefully moving his left hand closer to Haruka, Kou slipped his fingers just under the boy's white shirt and tip-toed up his soft stomach. Kou could see Haruka's eyes widen and a blush starting to appear, making him smirk. He continued to trace circles along Haruka's stomach and moved to his smooth side, trailing up a bit. Haruka couldn't believe Kou was doing this now when their friends were sitting around them and in the open. His mind was saying he should tell Kou to stop, but he was actually liking the feeling of Kou's long fingers running along his side, tickling him. It wasn't like the older man was down right molesting him, so it's not that bad, right? Haruka got used to Kou's light touches and figured it wasn't doing any harm.

Just then, Kou decided to be a bit more daring. Taking his right hand that was resting around Haruka's shoulders, Kou cupped the side of the kid's neck and and moved his fingers up, touching his pinkish cheek and leaned his face closer to Haruka. He could feel all Kou's movements and blushed more when Kou got closer to him, quickly kissing his cheek. Thank god that Aya was on Kou's left side and couldn't see what he was doing to poor, embarrassed Haruka. When Kou boldly blew in Haruka's ear, the boy squeaked and felt his face smolder with heat, knowing someone must have heard the noise he made. Akira turned his attention to Haruka because of the squeak he made and had to keep himself from gaping at the startling sight of Kou touching him. 'Okay, maybe I was wrong about Kou-nii not being that bad.' Akira mused to himself, smiling and watching the two lovers in their situation. Kou, really pushing his luck, bit Haruka's ear lightly and licked it, causing the mentioned boy to blush darker and shut his eyes, whimpering quietly. Haruka was cursing his sensitivity at the moment, doing his best not to make too many sounds.

"We're back." The sudden voice of the butler startled Haruka and Kou, making the man let go of the ear he was biting and take his hand out from Haruka's shirt. Akira was stilling grinning at the two and his smile widened at Haruka's flustered expression and his hands covering himself, along with Kou who had a proud smile on his face at not getting caught. "Welcome back. Did you get everything?" Aya asked, not even realizing why Kou and Haruka were acting strange or about what Kou had done to the young child right next to her. "Yes, we got a few different things to make." The butler replied, helping Master carry the bags into the kitchen. "Oh, and we also got these." Master added in, tossing a plastic bag of party whistles into Kengo's lap. Kengo picked up the bag and cheered. "I love these! We should all blow them when it turns midnight."

Kou reached over and grabbed the bag from Kengo, looking at the different colored whistles, while thinking about other things. "Hey, did you guys get alcohol?" In Kou's mind, you can't celebrate New Year's without some kind of alcoholic beverage. "Yes, we did. But, please don't get drunk." Master responded, saying it jokingly, but also meaning it. Shirogane and Akira weren't the only ones who knew about what kind of relationship the man has with little Haruka. He doesn't want Kou to end up getting drunk and molesting the kid right there, exposing everything like that, and getting beat up by Aya. "Oh, and what about Haru? What's he going to drink?" Kou questioned, glancing down at the small figure next to him that still looked embarrassed. Haruka wasn't sure why, but he felt happy that Kou was being considerate of him and wanting to make sure he got something, too. "I thought about that as well and got some apple cider for the minors. That includes you, Akira." Master said, finishing with putting away the ingrediants for the dinner.

Akira rolled his eyes, grabbing a soda can that was next to him on the floor and opening it. "I'm not going to drink any beer. If I did, then _he_ might try to take advantage." Akira said, narrowing his eyes at Shirogane and taking a sip of his soda. "Oh, Akira-kun, that's mean. You don't need to be drunk for me to take advantage of you." Shirogane replied slyly, smiling at Akira. "Nice one." Kou chuckled, enjoying the Shin's comeback and putting an arm around Haruka. "You don't need Haruka to be drunk either to take advantage of him, right, Kou-nii?" Akira asked, already over his embarrassment from what Shirogane had said. It was now Haruka's turn to get flustered, yet again. He blushed, thinking about Kou taking advantage of him and thought about the night they had sex. As if the mere mention of Haruka being taken advantage of caught his attention, the butler came out quickly into the room, but didn't say anything. He just wanted to make sure no one, specifically Kou, was doing anything to Haruka at the moment. Clearing his throat, Haruka's butler said, "It's getting later, so if everyone is hungry, Master and I will start dinner." Everybody agreed to that, the group feeling pretty hungry.

The dinner was nice and Haruka really liked it because all of his friends were eating together this time. Kengo was eating his food happily, while Aya would occasionaly tell him not to eat too fast or he'll get a stomach ache and Shirogane kept attempting to let Akira feed him, which the teen denied each time. "Shirogane, I'm not a little kid. I know how to eat, so stop it." Akira said with his usual annoyed tone he would often use. "Please, Akira-kun?" Shirogane pleaded, giving Akira the puppy eyes. "No." The high schooler responded, not seeming to be affected by the man's begging. Kou felt the need to be a bit mean and tease the bickering pair, so he picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and tapped Haruka's shoulder. "Here, Haru." Kou said, holding the chicken up to Haruka's mouth, encouraging the boy to eat it. Haruka hesitantly took the food with his mouth and chewed it while trying to ignore his butler's staring. Kou rested his hand on the back of Haruka's neck, looking over at Shirogane and Akira and simply smiling.

Akira scoffed quietly, knowing what Kou was doing just to tease them. "See, Akira-kun? Why can't you accept my kind gesture, like Haruka-kun did?" Shirogane asked and moved his face closer to Akira's, loving the faint blush he received. This all seemed too suspicious from Aya's point of view. She had been noticing that Kou, Haruka, Shirogane, and Akira were acting different lately. Akira wouldn't mind Shirogane's flirting as much and she saw when Kou would absentmindedly play with Haruka's hair every now and then. It was almost as if-no, no! No way! The girl's friends couldn't be...couples, could they? Oh, if that is true, she will have to murder Kou. Especially if he layed his pervert, molester hands on innocent and pure Haruka. Unknown to Aya, Haruka may not be as pure as she thinks, due to the irreplaceable thing Kou had taken from him a few nights before...

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><p><strong>A.k.a. Haruka's virginity. XD Sorry if this chapter is pretty short. I was in a rush to post it because my goal is to have the New Year's chapter up tomorrow or, by the latest, on the day of New Year's Eve. I hope you liked this chapter and I'll make sure to have the next one full of fluff. ^w^ Feedback is appreciated, ciao~<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy 2012! 8D I'm sorry that I didn't get to post this on the day of New Year's Eve, but I was busy and didn't have time to finish the chapter. Still, I've finally posted it and it's only a day after New Year's Eve, so I think it's alright. ^-^ I apologize if there's anything innacurate, along with any grammar/spelling errors. I hope you enjoy! :)**

**Series: Monochrome Factor**

**Pairings: Kou x Haruka, Shirogane x Akira**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy) and shota (an older man with a younger boy).**

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><p>It was now the day of New Year's Eve and everyone was feeling very excited. Kengo was helping Akira put up some streamers in various places in the living room, while Master and Haruka's butler were getting started on preparing the meal for tonight. Speaking of the boy, Haruka was currently busy with a problem he couldn't seem to get out of. "Haruka-chan, please try this on. I got it just for you! I even had it specially made!" Mayu pleaded, smiling widely at Haruka and holding up a, what looked like, revealing outfit. It consisted of a purple longsleeve shirt that had a black tank top attached to the inside of it, a pair of very small black jean shorts, and in Mayu's other hand were two long white socks. "What the hell is that?" Akira asked before Haruka had a chance to give his thought on the outfit. "It's for Haruka-chan, of course. I thought he could wear it tonight for New Year's." Mayu responded, moving closer to Haruka and imagining him in the clothes that everyone, except her, thought was too inappropriate for a child to wear. Okay, maybe there was also one other person who didn't think it was inappropriate. Kou stared at the outfit in Mayu's hands, not being able to keep himself from imagining Haruka in it and his mind creating a scenario.<p>

_"Onii-chan." Haruka said quietly, standing in front of Kou and looking down with a blush on his cheeks. "Do you think this outfit looks good on me?" He asked shyly, doing another one of his 'moe' poses and his hands covering his chest in embarrassment. "Do...Do you like it?" Haruka questioned again, looking up at Kou, his cheeks red and having a "come fuck me" look. _

"Kou-nii, you okay?" Kengo asked, waving a hand in front of Kou's face, shaking him out of his fantasy about Haruka. "That was very kind of you to get that outfit for Haruka-sama, Mayu-san. But, I'm afraid that I-" The butler didn't get to finish his sentence as Mayu began to list all the reasons why Haruka should wear it. "The shirt will show off Haruka-chan's beautiful pale shoulders. See?" Mayu said, standing behind Haruka and holding the shirt up in front of his chest. "So, will you wear it, Haruka-chan?" Mayu moved to stand in front of Haruka and smiled at him with hopeful eyes. Haruka felt like he couldn't turn Mayu down because he didn't want to make her feel bad, but he also was too embarrassed to wear the clothes she got for him because of what Kou would think.

"Nee-chan, don't force Haruka to wear it. You should let him decide for himself." Kengo said, trying to help Haruka out. "Well, why don't we get Kou-nii's opinion?" Akira asked and smirked at Kou, positive that the man was imagining Haruka in the outfit. Kou blinked and cleared his throat, walking over to the boy and putting his hands on Haruka's shoulders. "I think that the clothes are very cute, but it's up to Haru if he wants to wear it or not." Kou smiled down at Haruka, causing him to blush slightly. 'Why do I always get so flustered at Kou's smile?' Haruka wondered to himself, once again hating his blush reflex.

A few minutes of persuading from Mayu went by, but Haruka managed to not wear the outfit...for now, at least. It was getting later in the day and the hours seemed to go by very slowly. Not that Haruka was complaining. He was having fun hanging out with his friends, playing some games, and eating the delicious dinner that was cooked. He even got to help make some dessert after dinner with his friends. They were baking a chocolate cake and Kengo kept trying to lick the spoon he was mixing the batter with. Aya smacked Kengo's hand when he tried to lick it again. "Come on, I just want to have a little." Kengo begged, which Aya was ignoring. "You can't lick the spoon, then put it back in the mix. That's gross." Aya said, continuing to keep an eye on Kengo. Akira put a hand on his friend's shoulder and told him, "Wait until we're done mixing, then you can lick the bowl, okay?" Kengo smiled happily and decided that he could wait to lick it, getting back to his stirring. Haruka was standing next to Kengo, waiting for his turn to pour the batter into the cake pan. The blonde teen started mixing faster and accidentally flung a bit of chocolate onto Haruka's cheek. "Hey, Ken, be careful. You got chocolate on my beautiful Haru." Kou scolded from his spot next to Akira and moved closer to the boy.

Haruka blushed when Kou called him beautiful, just like he did every time, and was about to grab a paper towel to wipe the chocolate off his face. Before he could, Kou grasped his wrist gently and leaned down, licking the chocolate off Haruka's cheek. Haruka's blush deepened, Akira grinned, Aya gaped at what Kou just did, and Kengo stood innocently, scooping a bit of the chocolate batter onto his finger and sticking it in his mouth. "There, it's gone." Kou said, putting his hands in his pockets and acting as if it was a normal thing to lick chocolate off a little boy's cheek. Haruka brought his fingers up to his face and touched the spot where Kou just licked. "You pervert!" Aya yelled, throwing a towel at Kou, which didn't have any effect, but it was the closest thing to her that she could throw. "What? I was just getting the chocolate off Haru's cheek for him." Kou said defensively and put an arm around Haruka. "Right?" He asked, looking down at the small person beside him. Haruka looked up at Kou, still blushing and nodded in agreement, too embarrassed to say anything right now.

Aya was about to say something else, but Master walked into the room, interrupting them. "Have you put the cake in the oven yet?" He asked, but not seeming to be trying to rush the friends. "Oh, no, not yet. We'll put it in now." Kou responded, waiting for Haruka to pour the batter into the pan, then taking it and putting it inside the hot oven. "I hope the cake turns out good." Kengo said, hopping off his spot on the counter. "I'm sure it will be fine." Akira added in, walking back out into the living room. "Akira-kun, you look adorable in your apron." The others in the kitchen could hear Shirogane's compliment and had a strong feeling that Akira had glared at the man. Kengo laughed inwardly at the thought of Akira putting on the apron just to amuse Shirogane. "Haru, I want to talk to you for a second." Haruka turned his attention the Kou, confused about what he wanted to talk to him about. Following Kou out of the kitchen, Haruka was led into Akira's room and stopped walking when Kou grabbed his hand.

"What is it, Onii-chan?" Haruka asked, watching Kou fiddle with his hand and the ring he was wearing. Haruka didn't know why Kou always liked to play with his hands and his fingers, but he let him do it. "I have something to give you, Haru." The man finally said and looked down at the boy in front of him. "It's New Year's Eve and I want to give you your present early." His smile could tell Haruka what he wanted to give him. Kou was a hopeless romantic and Haruka knew he was about to kiss him, but, for some reason, Haruka felt saddened. This was Haruka's first relationship, so it was bound to happen sooner or later where Haruka would start to have doubts and become very possessive over Kou. Not to mention the part where he gets jealous extremely easily. Earlier today, Haruka saw Kou and Aya talking and thought how natural they looked together. It was then that Haruka felt his first major doubt about his relationship with Kou and started worrying it wouldn't last. The boy hated that he had to feel this way now when Kou was just trying to be sweet, but he couldn't stop himself before he pushed Kou away.

Kou didn't understand why Haruka had refused his kiss. The boy never did that and he was concerned that something might be bothering Haruka. "Haru?" Kou asked, a lot of confusion in his voice. Haruka's eyes narrowed and he wrapped his arms around himself, looking down. "Kou, why are you with me?" The question made Kou even more confused than he already was and moved closer to Haruka. "What do you mean?" Haruka kept looking down at the floor and said, "You like Aya, don't you?" It was then that Kou started to get an idea of why Haruka was acting weird. "Aya would be a better match for you than me. At least if you dated her, it wouldn't be illegal or looked down upon...like us." Haruka said, feeling his eyes tear up. He didn't know why he was so emotional lately, but it annoyed him that he would get upset over little things.

Kou felt anger rise inside him for a second at what Haruka said, but then it softened and he let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Haru, why are you saying things like that, after so much we've done?" Kou tightly grasped Haruka's shoulders, wanting the younger to look up at him. A few tears fell down Haruka's cheeks and he refused to meet Kou's eyes. "But, what about Aya? You flirted with her back then." A part of Haruka wanted to know what Kou was going to say, but the other was wishing he could take back even starting this conversation and being jealous. "I can't deny that I liked Aya, but I also liked you, too." Haruka's eyes widened a bit, having no idea that Kou actually liked him when he was living in Japan a few months before. The boy only thought Kou was flirting with him, not seriously having feelings for him.

"You already know that I'm a big flirt. I love to flirt with people and I know that I flirted with Aya a lot, but most of my attention was on you, even if it didn't seem that way. A first I couldn't comprehend how it happened, but I ended up having all my focus on you and then, without noticing, I was falling in love with you. It took me awhile to fully understand why I fell in love with you, but I came to see why." All of what Kou was saying had more tears falling from Haruka's eyes that he couldn't stop. "Haru, I love you. You're the only one." Kou said, finally getting Haruka to look at him and seeing the crystal tears leaking from the boy's dark blue eyes. Haruka wrapped his arms around Kou's back and buried his face in Kou's chest, loving it when the man hugged him back. "Do you still have any doubts now?" Kou questioned, petting the top of Haruka's head and enjoying the feel of the small, warm body against his.

Haruka shook his head and looked up at Kou, smiling a little. "I'm sorry I acted stupid, Onii-chan." Kou smiled and wiped away Haruka's tears with his fingers. "It's okay." The older of the two felt he didn't need to say much, letting Haruka soak in the revelation that he did love him and wasn't going to leave him. "As if I would let go of someone this adorable and special." Kou said, poking Haruka's nose and cupping his flushed cheeks. Haruka giggled a little and grabbed Kou's hands, incredibly happy that he bad been reassured. The man squeezed Haruka's hands and brought his face closer to the boy's smaller one. "We should probably go back out, so the others don't wonder where we are." Haruka nodded his consent at Kou's words, thinking it was for the best, and was led out of Akira's bedroom, back to their friends. 'Hopefully Aki won't be mad about us invading his room without permission.' Kou mused, holding Haruka's soft hand and getting back to the group, who were already eating some of the chocolate cake.

Another two hours passed and there was about fifteen minutes left until 12:00; it was also the latest Haruka had ever stayed up. His butler would normally have Haruka in bed by 9:00 or 9:30, with the exception of weekends when he would stay up until 10:00. That is, if Haruka could stay up that long. He had become so used to going to bed around a certain time and sleepiness was beginning to overtake him. Akira saw that his young friend looked tired and wanted to encourage him to stay up until midnight. Walking over, Akira put a peach in Haruka's hand. Haruka blinked and looked at Akira, not sure why he handed him the sweet fruit. "I've heard that eating fruit keeps you awake longer than sugar does, so I thought you could use it." Akira told his friend, patting his shoulder. "Thanks, Akira." Haruka replied, taking a bite of the peach and a dribble of juice sliding down his chin. "Oh yeah, I forgot those can be pretty messy." Akira looked around for a napkin, but then suddenly decided to tease Haruka. "I don't see anything for you to wipe it off with. I guess we can just get Kou-nii to help." The teen grinned slightly at Haruka's wide eyes and the blush that covered his face, hinting about what happened earlier when Kou had licked the boy's cheek.

Haruka quickly wiped the juice off his chin with the back of his hand, not letting Akira have the opportunity to get his attention and ask for "help" from Kou. "Sorry, Haruka, I just had to." Akira apologized, chuckling. The boy found a napkin and wiped his hands clean, along with his face, already forgiving Akira. "Guys, it's almost time!" Aya said excitedly, drawing everyone's attention. "Here you go, Haruka-sama." The butler came up to Haruka and handed him a glass of apple cider, along with the rest of the minors. The group gathered around the television, watching two people talking about the New Year and the timer on the screen that was above them. "It's almost time for the countdown." Kengo said, hardly able to contain his excitement, along with his sister. Shirogane placed one of his hands gently on Akira's arm, smiling at the teenager once he looked at him. Akira, despite the usual cold attitude he would have toward the Shin, gave a small smile back. The countdown began to start and everybody counted down the seconds together. "10, 9, 8, 7," In the middle of the counting, Kou moved his hand down and entwined his fingers with Haruka's. Haruka looked up at Kou next to him, smiling at the man and both of them continued on with their excited counting. "4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year!" A chorus of voices yelled the same thing, all of them cheering and a few of them holding up their drinks.

Shirogane leaned down just enough to place a kiss on Akira's cheek, receiving a blush and an angry shout from said teen. "What the hell, Shirogane? Don't do that!" Shirogane smiled sweetly at Akira's mad, but embarrassed reaction. "I love you, too, Akira-kun." He replied, hugging the boy and knowing that Akira liked the kiss he gave him, but, of course, would never admit it. Kou smiled at the two and also wanted to give Haruka a kiss, but figured it was too risky since the butler was right beside them. "Haru, come here real quick." Kou said, grabbing Haruka's arm and pulling him into the kitchen. Damn all his better thoughts to hell. Kou was determined to give Haruka a New Year's kiss, whether someone ends up seeing them or not. He didn't care at this point if Haruka's butler was to walk in on them kissing and pass out. They could explain everything later, but first he needs to kiss his little lover. "Onii-chan, aren't the others going to-" Haruka was cut off as Kou wrapped his strong arms around the boy's thin waist and pressed their lips together in a hot, but not too passionate, kiss.

Pulling back after a few moments, Kou looked at Haruka's beautiful red cheeks and his slightly startled expression. "I-Is that my New Year's present?" Haruka asked, still staring at Kou and seeing the smirk that suddenly appeared on his face. "Yes, yes it was." The man responded, smiling at Haruka and touching the side of his face. "Well...thank you." Haruka said, still in a bit of a daze from the heated kiss he shared with Kou. A laugh sounded from Kou's mouth and he pulled Haruka into a loose hug. "You're welcome, Haru. Happy New Year." He said, leaning down to kiss Haruka one more time.

"Hey, where did you guys go off so suddenly?" Master asked when Kou and Haruka came back into the room. He pondered about what the pair could have been doing and made a pretty accurate assumption in his mind, but didn't say anything. "Nothing much." Kou said indifferently and flashed a smile with a wink at Haruka. "Wait, do you hear that?" Aya suddenly questioned and the rest of the friends stopped talking. There was a faint ringing of bells outside and everybody in the group listened to it for a minute or two, enjoying the sound. "This is one thing I look forward to most at midnight on New Year's Eve. It's beautiful." Shirogane said, smiling happily and trying to hold Akira's hand, but being denied.

"It really is pretty." Haruka said, agreeing with Shirogane. The young boy yawned, a rush of tiredness wash over him. "I guess the fruit didn't help too much." Akira crossed his arms together, looking at Haruka and how sleepy he looked. "Haru, why don't you sit down?" Kou walked Haruka over to the couch and sat down next to him, allowing the tired kid to rest his head on his shoulder. "I'm getting pretty tired, too." Aya said, yawning a little. "Well, I'm not tired at all." Kengo chirped, who appeared to be very awake, along with Mayu. Haruka's eyes started closing against his will, and the last thing he saw was Akira put Kengo in a playful headlock and heard Shirogane say, "Happy New Year, everyone."

"Oh, Haruka's asleep." Kengo pointed out a few minutes later, causing Kou to look at Haruka, who was leaning against him, and saw him sleeping peacefully. Kou smiled a little and twirled a strand of Haruka's hair around his finger. "I guess I'll take Haru home with me and put him to bed. If that's okay with you, that is." The last thing was directed at Haruka's butler and the elder was a bit surprised that Kou had asked him if it was alright. "Yes, I think that's fine, but please make sure Haruka-sama gets there safely." Kou nodded and told the man that he would. Setting his drink down on a table beside the couch, Kou carefully picked Haruka up in his arms, completely expecting the shocked reactions from Aya and the butler. He was out the door before the two could say anything about him carrying Haruka like a bride or a princess and wished the others a Happy New Year, then getting into his car after putting Haruka in the backseat.

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><p>Haruka slowly blinked his eyes open, groaning a little and seeing that he was in Kou's bedroom. 'I must have fallen asleep and he took me back to his place.' Haruka thought to himself, sitting up in the bed and realizing he was wearing another one of Kou's shirts that was too big on him. Blushing madly, the boy found out that his pants were changed, as well. "He...undressed me completely." Haruka said outloud, his blush getting darker and holding onto the bed sheets. "Actually, I didn't change your underwear, so it's not technically undressing you completely." Haruka looked over at the doorway and saw Kou standing there, holding a cup with some sort of drink in it, and a grin on his face. "I could undress you completely if you want me to, though." The man said, a seductive tone in his voice, and stood by the side of the bed in front of Haruka. The blush on his pale face turned even redder and avoided Kou's eyes by glancing down. "Pervert." Haruka mumbled, watching Kou walk around to the other side and sit down on the bed next to him.<p>

"You know, people always call me a pervert and I say that they're cruel for calling me it, but I don't mind when you do. It's cute and I know that you're right, either way." Kou stated, running his index finger down Haruka's neck and lightly kissing his cheek. "Why don't you go back to sleep, Haru? You must be tired." The older man put a hand on the back of Haruka's head, fiddling with his hair. "Will you go to sleep with me?" Haruka had become used to sleeping with Kou throughout the night and snuggling with him, so he thought it might be hard to sleep without him there. Kou smiled and let out a little sigh. "Of course. I love sleeping with you." He responded, what he said having two different meanings and wanting to see if Haruka would get it. Apparently he did, due to the blush and Haruka's brilliant mind always knowing what Kou meant.

Kou got underneath the covers, his drink forgotten, and hugged Haruka to his chest, rubbing his hand up and down the boy's back. "It's a lot colder tonight than usual." Haruka said, shivering slightly. "Then, we'll just have to cuddle more than usual." Kou replied, pulling Haruka closer to him, trying to warm his shivering body up. "Better?" He asked, looking down at Haruka, who nodded 'yes' in response. "Happy New Year, Kou." Haruka said one last time before drifting off to sleep. Kou kissed his sleeping lover's forehead and also drifted off to sleep, hoping that his plan will work and be able to keep Haruka with him...

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><p><strong>Sort of a cliff hanger...maybe? XD I'll reveal what Kou's plan is in the next chapter. Well, I guess it's not really a "plan." It's more of something he's going to say and try to persuade Haruka's butler. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and, sadly, this story is coming near its end. I would love to keep adding more and more to this fanfic, but it has to end eventually. I am planning to write more Kou x Haruka stuff, though. So, there will be that to look forward to. ^w^ Feedback is appreciated, ciao~<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**I am so sorry I haven't updated this story in almost two months! My computer has a huge virus on it, so it will only stay on for about half an hour before shutting down. Which causes me to have a limited time to continue writing new chapters. Hopefully we'll get the computer fixed soon, but in the meantime I'll write little bits of the story and try to post sooner. If I end up taking a long time to update, don't think it's because I've stopped writing. I absolutely love adding more to this fanfic and I plan to finish it all the way to the end. ^-^ Anyway, here is chapter nine of See You Again. I apologize that it's so short and doesn't have much in the way of detail, but blame my bipolar computer for not giving me any damn time. :/**

**Series: Monochrome Factor.**

**Pairing(s): Kou x Haruka, Shirogane x Akira.**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy) and Shota (an older man with a young boy).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Monochrome Factor or any of the characters. They all belong to their rightful owners. If I did own Monochrome Factor, there would have been more moments between Kou and Haruka.**

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><p>The sudden ringing of his phone woke Kou up, earlier than he would have liked. Groaning, the still slightly dazed Kou sat up, running a hand through his hair and grabbing the cellphone on his bedside dresser.<p>

"Hello?" Kou answered, his voice a bit gravelly from just waking up. On the other line, a distressed butler responded.

"I apologize for calling this early Kou-sama, but I completely forgot that Haruka-sama and I were supposed to go back to England today." The older gentlemen explained, the stress in his voice evident.

If Kou had been alert, he would have been more surprised. "Oh, no. That was today, wasn't it? It slipped my mind, too." Kou said, glancing down at the sleeping boy next to him. "Did you miss your flight already?" Kou asked, crossing his fingers, and secretly hoped that Haruka wouldn't have to leave.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." The butler replied, sighing and feeling disappointed in himself for not remembering. On the other line, Kou was mentally cheering and tried to hide the smile in his voice.

Clearing his throat, Kou said, "That's unfortunate. Well, what do you think you're going to do now?" The all but too happy man was absentmindedly twirling a strand of Haruka's soft hair around his finger and doing his best to pay attention to the old man's talking, when all he wanted to think about was how lucky he was to have Haruka stay with him longer.

"I suppose I'll have to reschedule another flight for a different time. I still feel foolish about forgetting our flight when I had made sure to remember it." Haruka's butler sighed and started wondering where he went wrong. The butler was almost, if not always, on time with things and kept together with his schedule, so he would feel bad about the times he screwed up.

"Hey, it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes, you don't have to feel bad over this." Kou told him, trying to make the butler feel a bit better. "Besides, it's not the end of the world. And on the bright side, Haru will get to spend more time with us and I know he'll be happy about that."

The older man smiled at what Kou said. "Yes, you're right. It really isn't so bad." Deciding to let Kou go back to sleep and get himself some rest as well, the butler said that he'll see them in a few hours and asked if Kou could tell Haruka the change of plans.

"Sure, no problem. Okay, bye now." Kou finished as he shut his cellphone and set it back on the dresser. Just then, Haruka slowly blinked his eyes open, seeing Kou smiling and leaning back against the headboard of the bed.

"Onii-chan, you're up already?" Haruka questioned, not used to his boyfriend awake before him.

"Oh, hi there, Haru." Kou responded in his usual cheery tone and turned his smile to the boy. "I have some great news to tell you."

"Great news?" Haruka asked, rubbing at both of his eyes lightly and sat up, looking at Kou.

"Your butler called and he wanted me to tell you that there's been a change of plans." Kou kept trying to fight the grin from coming onto his face and was waiting to see what Haruka's reaction would be.

Haruka's knit his eyebrows in confusion. "Change of plans?" The boy inquired, sleepiness currently making it hard for him to think about what could have changed.

"Apparently you missed your flight back to England, so that means you're going to get to stay with us longer again." Kou said and finally let the big smile he was holding back come out.

Haruka's eyes widened and he also got a smile on his face. "Really?" That was all Haruka could manage to say since he was too busy with the feelings of happiness flowing over him.

"Absolutely." Kou replied, laughing when Haruka suddenly hugged him in excitement. The man hugged Haruka back and placed a kiss on the top of his head. "Isn't that great, Haru?"

Haruka nodded against Kou's chest and lifted his head, a faint pink tinting his cheeks when he realized that he was practically lying on top of Kou; the only thing keeping it from being even more embarrassing is that Kou was sitting up. Kou's happy smile turned into a smirk as he had a strong feeling about why Haruka was blushing.

"We...we should go back to sl-" Haruka was cut off when Kou's hands crawled around to his sides and held them there, still smirking at the boy.

Kou rolled them over so that he was leaning over Haruka, while the kid laid fully down against the bed and pillow. Kou knew that it was very early and both of them should get more sleep, but the man had the sudden urge to tease his little lover. That damn libido of his never cooperated with Kou.

"Kou?" Haruka questioned, his voice quiet. Haruka made a small surprised sound as Kou kissed him and slowly ran his hands over the boy's pajama top.

'Damn clothes in the way...' Kou thought to himself, wanting to be able to touch Haruka's soft pale white skin. Normally Kou wouldn't fool around when it was still this early in the morning, but he couldn't stop himself. Kou's relationship with Haruka is the first long-term relationship he's been in for a while, so the man was a little more than possessive and needy. He also felt that he couldn't get enough of Haruka's body. Being only eleven years old, the kid graduate has a very lithe and child-like form; also incredibly soft and fragile. Which is one thing that Kou absolutely loves.

The older of the two started sucking and kissing the side of Haruka's neck, drawing a startled gasp and a couple moans from the body below him. Kou moaned lightly himself as he hungrily kissed all over Haruka's throat and his neck.

"K-Kou..." Haruka stuttered out, arching a bit at the pleasurable feeling of the man's warm tongue. "Wait, you...you want to-" Haruka didn't have time to finish his sentence due to Kou kissing him hard on the mouth.

Haruka moaned into the kiss and trembled, his eyes shut tight. The boy gasped for air when Kou pulled away. "Kou, do you really want to do this...?" Haruka's confusion was written on his blushing face. "I mean, now? I-Isn't it too earl-" He was cut off once again, but this time by a squeak coming from his own throat.

Kou had laid down closer to Haruka and trailed his tongue along the patch of skin that was shown from the collar of Haruka's shirt. "Sorry. But, I can't help myself." Kou apologized for catching his young lover off-guard and letting his desire take over his actions.

"B-But, what about breakfast?" Haruka questioned, which caused Kou to chuckle at the odd, but cute question he asked at a time like this.

"I'll cook you your favorite meal as my apology." Kou simply replied, moving down to Haruka's chest and letting his head rest there for a second, soaking in the warmth radiating from Haruka.

"Aren't you hungry, though, Onii-chan?" The boy was doing his best to come up with reasons for them to stop their little "bedtime fun" and force himself not to give in. It wasn't that Haruka didn't want Kou to do any of this, but they had only made love once before and for Kou to start touching him again out of the blue made Haruka extremely embarrassed and flustered.

"Hm. You're right, I am a bit hungry." Kou said, a mischievous smirk coming onto his face. "And my favorite meal is right here." The man finished his sentence slowly, as he moved down Haruka's body, trailing his hands on the kid's chest, and centered just inside of his legs.

Haruka's face turned tomato red and he let out a small gasp. "D-Don't, Kou-!"

Kou parted his lips and leaned in to press his mouth against the fabric covering the private spot in between Haruka's legs.

A high-pitched ringtone suddenly pierced the silence of the room, immediately dissolving the mood.

"...Shit." Kou cursed, dropping his head and pressing it lightly against Haruka's crotch, causing a yelp to come from the completely stunned boy.

"Who the hell is calling me?" Kou asked angrily as he got up and, still on top of Haruka, reached over to grab his phone. "What is it?" The man questioned in an annoyed tone once he answered.

Haruka didn't know what he should do, so he continued to lay underneath Kou and look around awkwardly. After a minute or two, Kou finally hung up and sighed.

"Sorry about that, Haru." Kou said, looking down at the boy below him.

"It's okay. Um, was that call for a job?" Haruka asked, blushing faintly from still being trapped below the much broader and lean body above him.

"Yeah. The guy I was talking to has another job for me today, unfortunately. So, I won't be able to see you for a couple hours." Kou pouted, going back to his normal self already. "Are you going to be okay without me, Haru?" Kou ran a hand through Haruka's hair and lovingly caressed his face.

Haruka's blush deepened and he nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine. I can use those hours to spend some time with Akira and the others." Haruka smiled a little and, even though he was going to miss hanging out with Kou, was glad to spend more time with the rest of his friends.

Kou smiled as well and kissed Haruka's forehead. "I promise to make up for our lost time later, okay? Oh, wait a minute." Kou abruptly said.

"Eh? What is it?" Haruka inquired and looked up at Kou, wondering what he just remembered.

"Speaking of making up, I need to cook you an apology breakfast for molesting you out of nowhere." Kou responded, grinning down at Haruka.

Haruka giggled, despite his embarrassment, and allowed Kou to help him get out of bed. "What are you going to make me?" Kou slung an arm over Haruka's thin shoulders and began walking out of the bedroom with him.

"It can be anything you like." The man said and reached a finger up to gently touch Haruka's cheek.

Haruka looked off, thinking about what he wanted. "How about…an apology omelet?"

"Ooh, I could go for an omelet, too. But," Kou replied, putting one hand on Haruka's shoulder and lifting the kid's chin up with the other, "let me start off my apology with this." The man bent down and kissed Haruka sweetly on the lips.

Haruka willingly kissed back and once they pulled apart, being a smart mouth, said, "I don't know if that's a good enough start for your apology."

"Oh, you can be so conniving for a child!" Kou exclaimed, pulling Haruka into a tight hug and playfully cupping his cheeks, while Haruka laughed and grasped onto Kou's arms.

The next two hours of the morning went by like usual (with Kou being a pervert here and there) and Haruka's "apology omelet" ended up being delicious…

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><p><strong>Someone shoot me for writing all that sappy stuff. XD And that god damn cellphone was a total killjoy, wasn't it? -.- (Says the person who made it happen in the first place.) I think this is sort of like a filler chapter...but better to have made some progress rather than none, right? Plus, I got to write Kou x Haruka fluff, which is something I just never get tired of doing. ^w^ I'll do my best to have chapter ten up soon and that will probably, like always, have an overload of cuteness in it. Feedback is appreciated, ciao! :3<strong>


	10. Author's Note

First of all, let me just apologize for how long it's been since I updated this story. To the people who are still sticking around, thank you so much. You've sure got great patience to wait this super long time. ^-^;;

Secondly, I want to give my thanks and say how appreciative I am for all the wonderful feedback I've gotten from everyone. Reading the helpful and supportive reviews always cheers me up and keeps me going. Thank you all for your kindness! T_T

I promise that the four months of waiting is almost over. Chapter ten will be posted as soon as it's finished and edited. I'm currently working on coming to a conclusion for chapter ten and I've made it longer than normal to make up for the absence.

If only I knew about posting author's notes sooner, than I could have done this a while ago. -.- Still, better late than never, right?

I've said this in the past, but I want to mention it now in case anybody has doubts. I _absolutely _will be finishing See You Again. Even if it takes me three years (which I hope it doesn't), you will see its end. I love writing this story too much to abandon it. Plus, I know I have some very dedicated fans out there who enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy adding to it.

I should also quickly let you know that I have another multi-chapter Kou x Haruka-based fanfic planned after See You Again is finished. Just giving a heads up if anyone would like to check it out in the future. :D

Oh, and there is my other story I'm working on at the same time as See You Again called "The Curse of Jealousy." It's already at chapter three and the fourth installment is in the process. See? It may appear like I'm not doing anything, but I am. Progress! -w-

That seems to be all the notifications I needed to list, so I guess that's it for now. If you have any questions you'd like to ask, suggestions, or requests, then feel free to send me a message. I'd be happy to hear whatever you want to say.

Hold on! I remembered something else! I want to take this opportunity and tell you about my friend's story she's writing. It's a Kou x Haruka fanfic and it is amazing. Seriously, if you love to read adorable plots centered on KouKa, go check out her fanfic. Its name is "I Love You, is that so wrong?" and has two chapters posted. I'm completely loving it and it deserves to be shown to others. Keep up your great work, girl!

Okay, I'm officially done now. Ja Ne, guys! I hope you're looking forward to chapter ten! Happy summer, by the way. ^o^


	11. Author's Note 2

Boy, does it suck to have to do another one of these. I hoped that my first author's note would be the _only _one I'd need to post, but now there's _two_. Geez, why must my life currently have so many complications? -_-

I don't know why, but the Yaoi gods seem to love messing with me and keep me from writing more of this Shota-filled story. Especially when it's the MAIN THING I DESPERATELY WANT TO WORK ON. *insert melancholy sigh here* Unfortunately, loyal readers, it appears as though I need to put this fanfiction on a short hiatus.

Merely about a month after I posted my first note to inform everyone of what was going on, my computer situation drastically changed. The family computer officially died and I wasn't able to get it to turn on at all, so my dad had to unhook everything and take it down. Now, the poor thing is sitting behind a door and getting covered in dust. I feel so bad for it. T_T My many chapters of See You Again are on the dead computer, along with the other Kou x Haruka one-shots I wrote. I can't get access to them, unless my dad is magically able to turn the computer on for a few minutes and I can transfer them to this other computer we're using.

Speaking of which, the school I attend was awesome enough to send me a computer, free of charge. :D It's fantastic to have stable internet access again and I've even gotten to start a clean slate, writing new Monochrome Factor fanfics. That's the good thing to have come out of this.

I'm going to see if my dad can manage to help me retrieve my stories on the virus-infected computer and move them to this working one. If not, then I'll have to be patient and wait to continue adding more chapters to this fanfic.

I'm so sorry to make you guys wait this long for an update. I know there's a few people who really want to read the next installment and I feel the same. I wrote a good chunk of chapter ten before the computer crashed, so I'll be able to pick it up quickly when I can get my hands on it.

It would mean the world to me for those who stick with this story and can deal with my horrible lack of updates. I said it already that I'll absolutely finish this and I hold true to that statement. See You Again is too special to me not to complete and I have some good ideas left that I want to throw in.

I can't set a date for when chapter ten will be posted, however I'm hoping I can do it before the year is out. I can't believe it's been a year since I submitted the first chapter and the story line left off after New Year's. It's weird to realize that Christmas is coming up soon, considering that it was during December of 2011 when I wrote most of the plot.

Alright, enough rambling. I think I've explained my situation thoroughly and, as always, feel free to ask me questions if you're interested to know about anything else. Millions of thanks go to the individuals who plan to stay with this fanfiction and continuously give me wonderful support. It's truly the best. :')

Let's pray that I can return to chapter ten and future chapters soon! That depends on if I can get my story back and if school will take it easy on me. ^-^;; Thank goodness for Winter Break arriving shortly, eh? Ja Ne, everyone!


	12. Chapter 10

**YO GUESS WHO IS STILL ALIVE? Dear God, I don't even know where to begin. How long has it been since an official new chapter of this story has been posted and not just a bunch of author's notes? I would have to guess somewhere over six months. I'm a terrible, _terrible_ person. Please trust me when I say that I really do hate leaving you guys hanging for so long and making you wait forever to see new installments of this story. I wish I was able to write new chapters a lot more frequently and pump out chapters every two or three weeks, and not every three months. I had the hugest writer's block with this story for a long time and it was maddening. Before was the whole computer issue where I couldn't access my older stories for almost a year and then once I got the computer back I was pretty much struck with writer's block for this new chapter. I think fate is against me, guys. :l But, fear not! Fate isn't going to stop me from working on my favorite story and giving it to you loyal readers.**

**I know I've said it countless times, but I can't stress the topic enough. I am so grateful to have such amazing readers and followers who continue to stick by me. Not just for this story either, for my other ongoing stories. I've found you guys to be super patient and kind and present me with suggestions when I'm at a loss for ideas and give helpful reviews and ugh. You people are positively wonderful, okay? I wish I could hug you all, kiss your cute faces, and bake you cookies. Or order pizza because I can't really cook. And I'm lazy. But, yeah, as I was saying, thank you so very much for being loyal to me and my stories. It truly means a lot to me and makes me believe that my stories are good enough to have people wait for God knows how long to see more from them. Pretty sure there's not much of a greater joy than having others genuinely like your stories. ^-^**

**I'll try not to ramble too much here and I promise I won't keep you from reading the chapter for much longer. However, I want to point out that it's getting close to the two-year anniversary of when I wrote the majority of this story. It's already been two years since I published the first chapter (considering that was near the end of September in 2011), but the whole Christmas and New Year's stuff was written around November and December of 2011. Isn't that insane? Liek waht. I guess it goes to show how little I wrote of this story during 2012 and disappeared for, what, seven or eight months? Yep, still a terrible person. Anyway, I think it's really awesome that I'm nearing the two-year anniversary for probably my favorite parts of this story and it's a bit heartwarming, I suppose. I'll plan another time to get mushy, though. In the meantime, I'm glad I could get this new chapter out before the two-year mark and I will see if I can manage to post the next chapter before December. I seriously hope so.**

**As a reminder in case anybody happens to sort of forget the setting, which I won't blame you for in the slightest because of how long it's been, this is all taking place a few days after the new year. That's why it's still snowing and what-not. I'm not going to do any sudden, strange time skips to keep up with my absence, don't worry. Alright, I am finally done and I will continue my rants at the end of the chapter. See you down there!**

**Series: Monochrome Factor**

**Pairing: Kou x Haruka and slight Shirogane x Akira**

**Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai (boy x boy relationships), Shota (an adult man with a pre-teen or young teenage boy), swearing (could be a warning for those who aren't keen on cussing), and overwhelming amounts of fluff (speaks for itself).**

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><p>"Are you sure you'll be okay while I'm gone?" Kou questioned as he helped Haruka get out of his car that was parked across the street outside of Akira's snow-covered home. The man felt a tad bit concerned about leaving Haruka by himself for a few hours while he went to a job. He knew that the graduate was still quite emotional and, not to mention, he wanted to spend as much time as he could with the boy while he was here. Kou just wanted some sort of reassurance that he would be alright.<p>

"Yes, I promise I'll be fine." Haruka replied, shutting the car door and looking up at Kou. A strong, chilly breeze suddenly blew past the pair and it caused them both to shudder.

"Oh, no! I forgot to think about bringing you some extra clothes in case you get cold! If you become sick, it will be all my fault!" Kou started to panic, which was amusing Haruka greatly and brought a small smile to the graduate's face.

"Onii-chan, you're acting like a worried mother." Haruka said, giggling.

Kou let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess I kind of am. Sorry. I suppose I'm more protective over you ever since you came back."

"Really, I'll be fine. It's not as if I haven't been by myself without you before." Haruka remarked, looking both ways before crossing the street and walking up to the small pathway that lead to the front door with Kou behind him. "After all, I'm sure Akira and the others will take good care of me."

Kou sighed and patted the top of Haruka's head. "You're right. I'm just overreacting."

Haruka nodded and rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to come and let them in. Shivering from the cold weather, Haruka crossed his arms together over his chest and watched his breath come out as a puff of air. The action caught Kou's attention immediately.

The man reached his arms out and pulled Haruka into a tight hug, surprising his small lover. "Feel warmer now?"

A faint blush came across Haruka's cheeks at Kou's question and at the sudden hug he received. But, it didn't stop him from teasing the Rei. "You're mothering me again."

"Hey, I'm not mothering you. I'm trying to warm you up and make sure you don't get frost bite." Kou argued, not that their conversation was anything like an argument to begin with, and hugged Haruka even tighter. He had his arms secured around Haruka's shoulders and he tilted his head back slightly, gazing at the small roof above them over the doorway. "Hugging is one of the best ways to share body warmth, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but..." Haruka's blush had deepened at their unbearably tight embrace and he wanted to trick himself into believing that his flushed cheeks were from the cold instead. About ready to give in, Haruka buried his face in Kou's lower torso, his freezing hands having found solace in the back of Kou's coat. His voice sounded a little muffled as he spoke, "Kissing would probably be a better way."

The minute he realized what he said, he knew he was in for it. The younger's eyes widened at his own words, briefly in shock that he had actually let the thought escape his mouth. He had felt, rather than heard, Kou go silent and stay still for a few seconds. Repressing the defeated whine that wanted to pass over his lips, Haruka scolded himself, _What have I done?_

"Onii-chan?" The boy lifted his head cautiously to look at Kou and saw the elder's face move closer to his very quickly, barely giving him a chance to meet Kou's eyes.

Kou gently kissed Haruka, keeping his arms draped around the youth's shoulders. Haruka let the elder kiss him and he squeezed his hands that were clutching at Kou's coat, shyly returning the kiss. The two were so absorbed in their warm kiss that they didn't hear the sound of the front door opening or the cheerful voice beginning to speak.

"Kou-nii, Haruka! It's great to see you guy-" Kengo suddenly cut off, violently choking on air. To make it even more comedic, he stumbled backwards, catching himself by grabbing onto the door frame. "Holy crap!"

Kou and Haruka instantly jumped back from the kiss, both turning to face Kengo. A seemingly long, awkward silence went between the three and none of them knew what to say.

Kengo continued to stare at his two friends in total shock, his brain trying to find the words to respond with to what he saw. The puzzled blonde slowly raised a finger, pointing at nothing in particular, and finally was able to murmur, "Y-You guys…and kissing…what is...what?"

Kou gathered up his shattered composure and slung an arm over Kengo's shoulders, pulling the teenager to stand outside the door with him. "Ken, it's great to see you, too!" Kou had a smile on his face, but it was rather fake to mask the dread he felt.

Haruka was blushing almost insanely, completely embarrassed that Kengo witnessed him being kissed by Kou and also feeling bad that he had found out about their relationship in such an abrupt way.

"Do not say a word of this to Aya-chan or Hikojuuro-san, understand?" Kou quickly warned, still keeping his fake, cheerful smile in place.

Kengo swallowed anxiously, his eyes wide and nodding in understanding. He still felt utterly confused, but agreed to not say a word in fear of being beaten by Aya (even though he wasn't at fault, he was afraid of getting mauled by her anyway) and having a scary Kou pissed at him. Which was a pretty terrifying thing to imagine, considering that Kou was normally so upbeat and flirty.

"You guys are here already?" Akira asked as he came up to the front door when noticing that Kou and Haruka were standing outside. "Kengo, why aren't you letting them in?" The teen's sentence slowly came to a halt and he raised an eyebrow in suspicion at the horrifically awkward aura among his three friends.

Kou had moved back to stand next to Haruka with his hands in his pockets and was trying to act cool, like nothing had happened. Haruka was still blushing and looking down at the ground to both hide his melting face and how uncomfortable he felt. Kengo continued to have a stunned expression and was not recovering from the startling sight he had seen firsthand.

"What the hell is up with you guys?" Akira started to feel the awkwardness from them spreading onto himself and he was bothered by that.

"Everything's fine, Aki." Kou reassured him, his attitude perking up and pushing both Haruka and Kengo inside the warm home. "Onii-san better get going, so I'll see you later after my job."

Akira was a bit curious as to why Kou seemed in such a hurry to leave and still wondered about the awkward aura from a few moments before. Shrugging it off for the time being, Akira kept his arm resting on the door frame and nodded. "Yeah, see you later, Kou-nii."

"Bye, Onii-chan." Haruka hadn't stopped being embarrassed, but he managed to say goodbye to Kou, unlike Kengo who continued to be in some type of shock.

Akira shut the front door after Kou walked away to his car and he turned around to face his two friends, placing his hands on his hips. His stance showed that he was already judging them. "So," The brunette began, eyeing both Kengo and Haruka closely, "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Haruka questioned, doing his best to act normal. To his credit, he was doing a rather decent job. It wasn't an easy task to pretend that your friend hadn't walked in on you making out with your other friend and found out about your secret relationship.

Narrowing his eyes, Akira said accusingly, "You aren't fooling anyone. I know something must have happened between you guys and Kou-nii."

"Not really." The kid bluffed, glancing down to avoid Akira's smoldering stare.

"If nothing happened, then why does Kengo look petrified?" Akira turned his attention to his best friend, eyebrows knit in confusion. "He looks like he saw something traumatic."

"Well, he-" Haruka began, but, luckily for him, Shirogane suddenly came to speak to the companions. He adorned a content expression that he often had.

"Good morning, Haruka-kun. I'm glad you're finally here. Master came by this morning and is helping make breakfast, so why don't you come join us?" The Shin offered, smiling politely.

Haruka mentally sighed with relief and the sound of food shook Kengo out of his daze. He cheered happily, almost as if his previous shock hadn't happened, and ran off into the kitchen, wanting to look at the delicious food being cooked. Haruka was about to follow suit when Shirogane retreated back into the kitchen, until he felt a hand grip his shoulder.

"I'm not letting this go just yet, Haruka." Akira stated, a look on his face that Haruka knew meant he had no choice but to tell the elder what happened sooner or later.

Letting out an actual sigh this time, Haruka glanced at the other. "Yes, I know."

Akira smiled a bit and it looked dangerously happy; never a good sign to get from the teen. "Now, let's go get some breakfast." Akira ordered, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking beside Haruka into the kitchen, a delicious smell of cooked food hitting their noses.

~OoOoO~

Haruka was genuinely able to enjoy breakfast with his friends and he was happy that he got to spend time with them, like they used to frequently before he moved to England. Akira, Kengo, Aya, Shirogane, and everyone else really hadn't changed, Haruka noted, and that was wonderful to him. He loved his friends just the way they were, flaws and all.

Kengo gladly stuffed his face with the delicious chocolate chip pancakes Master and Shirogane cooked up, seeming to have forgotten everything with Kou and Haruka, or at least successfully acting like he forgot. Mayu and Aya were talking about casual, recent events in their lives as they ate their scrambled eggs, indicating that they had become pretty good friends at some point. Shirogane made a few moves on Akira, trying to feed him and such, which were immediately denied by the younger Shin, but he was still as calm and polite as he had been since they first met.

Then, there was Akira.

The teenager somehow seemed different to Haruka. Mainly in the sense that he was smiling more than the boy had ever seen him do. Maybe it was because he was thoroughly enjoying the breakfast, or perhaps he was thrilled to have their companionship reunited. The latter seemed to be the most likely reason.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

The sudden exclamation tore Haruka away from his thoughts about his comrades and he looked over at the pink-haired girl who the outburst belonged to.

"Haruka-chan, I have something for you." Mayu said in a cheery tone and went over to a large box she had set by the front door that Haruka strangely didn't even notice.

The overly excited, and possibly scheming, ring to Mayu's voice didn't make the youth feel confident at all. Opening the big purple cardboard box, Mayu pulled out an outfit that she was determined to have Haruka wear, whether he liked it or not.

Once the outfit was held up, Haruka felt like fainting.

Hanging off one of the plastic coat hangers was a white, long-sleeved frilly dress shirt with buttons all the way up to the neck and a small, thin red ribbon tied in a bow underneath the collar. On a second coat hanger in Mayu's right hand were a pair of tan jean shorts, around thigh length, yet they appeared much shorter to Haruka.

"There's also some cute white knee-high socks to complete the outfit." Mayu added, smiling widely and waiting to hear some opinions on the outfit.

A horrifically uncomfortable silence went through the room, until Akira managed to break it.

"Well, at least it's not as inappropriate as it could be, right?" The teen tried seeing the upsides to the outfit, taking a look at Haruka's blank stare. "What do you think, Haruka?"

"It's, um…" Haruka wasn't quite sure what to say about the clothes meant for him to wear and he was thankful that he had let Hikojuuro take the opportunity to go out and do what he wanted for the day. His butler would question whether or not these friends were healthy for Haruka's well-being and his sanity.

"You must love it so much because you're speechless!" Mayu made a quick assumption about his thoughts and ran over to Haruka, kneeling beside him on the ground. "Why don't you put it on now?"

"What? Now?" Haruka blinked in surprise and was going to protest, but the new clothes were shoved in his arms and he was pulled out of his chair so fast that he was denied the chance. Haruka sent a pleading look to Akira, which the teen only responded to with a helpless shrug of his shoulders.

_Sorry, Haruka. I think it's too late for me to save you._ Akira apologized in his mind, knowing the boy couldn't hear it. Even if he did try to help, it would have been pointless to attempt getting Haruka out of this. Mayu was dead set on Haruka wearing the outfit and Akira felt afraid to go near her, fearing she would hiss at him with a forked tongue and glowing red eyes.

"It seems that Mayu-san is truly set on getting her way when she's determined in something." Master casually commented, taking a sip of his tea and a faint smile planted on his face.

~OoOoO~

"Um, Mayu?"

"Hm? What's up, Haruka-chan?" Mayu pressed her ear against the bathroom door after hearing Haruka call her name from the other side. "Do you need help getting dressed?"

"No, it's not that. I have it on, it's just-" Haruka began, but was rudely interrupted.

"You have it on? Then, what are you waiting for? Come out!" Mayu exclaimed, opening the door without a warning and beholding the lovely sight before her. A screech escaped the woman and she complimented enthusiastically, "You're so cute!"

Haruka stood, painfully awkwardly, a few feet away from Mayu and was wearing the outfit that she had been overly persistent with. "Y-Yeah."

"If only Kou-san was here. I bet he would be all over you." Mayu giggled, half jokingly and half serious. Even though Kou was high on the list of men she found unbelievably sexy, she had never wanted to be in a relationship with him or have the man to herself. Mayu was one of the first to notice that there was a growing chemistry between the two males ever since Haruka returned. She was secretly rooting for Haruka to finally find a person that made him happy and she could tell Kou was the one who did that the most.

Haruka blushed at the thought of Kou seeing him in these humiliating clothes and started feeling thankful that he wasn't here either.

"Alright, come on." Mayu commanded as she clapped her hands together. "Let's go show you to everybody."

Denied to refuse again, Haruka was dragged out of the bathroom by his wrist and was sure that he would be forced to keep on the clothes for only God knows how long.

~OoOoO~

"Honestly, Kengo, your sister can be insane sometimes." Aya absentmindedly gave her opinion on Mayu, unraveling a thick strand of black hair once she took out her two simple hair clips to redo them more securely. "I feel bad for Haruka-kun."

"He'll be fine. Having to wear an outfit that's probably often in the fantasies of Kou-nii isn't the worst thing that could happen to him." Akira swung an arm over the head of the couch he was seated on and continued, "Haruka's just lucky enough that the old man and Kou-nii aren't here to see him."

"I'm glad that Nee-chan isn't messing with me this time, though." Kengo stated his thoughts out loud and glanced at the hallway leading to the bathroom. "Oh, they're back."

"Attention, please!" Mayu announced, almost skipping into the living room from her excitement. "I introduce you to Haruka-chan, in his latest fashionable attire!" The girl finished proudly, giving a short bow, and the rest of the group was consumed with curiosity.

With a pull from Mayu, Haruka came out from behind her and the last thing he wanted to do was look at the faces of his friends, feeling way too embarrassed.

As what currently happened in the past when involving crazy or mind boggling situations, everybody had different reactions.

Kengo bit back a cackle, Aya got a little starry-eyed, admiring how adorable Haruka looked, Shirogane hid a smile behind his gloved hand, and Akira gaped.

"Wow, Haruka. It really suits you." Akira was the first to speak and he didn't fight off his smirk, looking at the outfit, and Haruka's flushed face, one more time.

In that moment, Haruka wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He wanted to turn into a turtle and roll away to hide in his shell forever, never to see the light of day again.

Not being able to see the outfit, but still wanting to sooth the boy's nerves that he could sense, Master kindly said, "I'm sure you look very nice, Haruka-kun."

Haruka smiled lightly and let out a relieved sigh at the attempt to make him feel better, finally deciding to shake off his nerves. "Mayu, can I take these clothes off now since they've seen them?"

"Of course not. You look perfect and I won't let you do that." Mayu chuckled somewhat evilly and couldn't stop grinning at her long-awaited achievement. "Do you really think, after months of waiting to dress you up, I will let you out of this that easily?" She asked, pinching Haruka's cheek and still smiling widely.

Haruka, and almost everyone else included, said to themselves, _Mayu can be scarier than I thought._

"Oh, no. It's raining." Kengo said in alarm, his direction having turned to the square window on the wall across from the couch a few moments ago when he heard a faint patter against the glass. "I wanted to go outside today." His sentence ended with a disappointed whine, dropping his head.

"You could still go outside if you wanted to. But, you'll probably catch a cold." Akira made an obvious point, while noticing Shirogane subtly move closer to him.

"We can have fun inside as well, Kengo-kun. We could watch a movie or play a board game, maybe make warm soup for a chilly day like this." Shirogane proposed some ideas, sending a smile to the disappointed teenager. His positive outlook on things generally tended to cheer everyone up.

That was something else Haruka realized he loved.

"A movie might be fun to watch." Aya voiced her opinion, getting up off the floor to switch her place and take a seat beside Shirogane on the couch. "What movies do you have, Akira?"

"I don't normally watch movies that often, so I haven't checked for a while." Akira responded, looking at Kengo. "Hey, Kengo."

The teen didn't hear his friend talking to him and he kept staring out the window, watching the rain hit the glass.

"Kengo?"

Unheard again.

"Hey. Dog."

"What did you call me?" Kengo yelled, giving Akira his attention and glaring.

"He responds to 'dog', huh?" Akira mused, this time looking at Haruka. "Haruka, is your vote for watching a movie?"

"Sure. That's fine." Haruka replied and, due to Akira's gesture, took a seat in between him and Aya.

"Let's watch something romantic!" Mayu chirped and plopped down on the floor right next to Aya, resting her arms on the other girl's legs. "I love a good romance movie."

"Mayu-san, do you have to lean on me like that?" Aya questioned to the older woman and tried nudging Mayu's arms off her.

"Can't I? Your legs are so smooth and pretty, Aya-chan." Mayu grinned at the prefect and giggled lightheartedly.

Aya blushed at the compliment, clearing her throat. "Kengo, pick something to watch. Just make sure it's not stupid."

"Knowing Kengo, it probably will be." Akira mumbled, lifting a hand to fiddle with his black choker; the one Shirogane had gotten him for Christmas.

"Why do you always assume I'll pick a dumb movie?" Kengo asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Because you're dumb." Akira and Aya replied simultaneously.

"You're so cruel!" Kengo cried pitifully.

Haruka felt sorry for Kengo, knowing he was frequently called stupid and bagged on. But, that was sort of his role in their group: the idiot. As mean as it seemed, Haruka knew that Akira and Aya really did care for Kengo, despite their constant teasing. He was someone everybody in their group cared for and enjoyed being around.

A couple of minutes passed, the friends having some difficulty with agreeing on a movie in the process. Mayu wanted to watch a romance movie, Akira wanted to watch something that included a mind fuck to make you think, Aya wanted to watch a movie with a possible Edo period setting, and Kengo wanted to watch something with a lot of action and explosions. Luckily, they finally came to a decision.

The first movie they decided to watch was the latest James Bond film. They also chose two different films they could watch after, in order to satisfy all of the comrades' tastes.

"I would love to be James Bond's woman." Mayu cooed, sighing sweetly and looking as if she had gone off into one of her own fantasy dream worlds, which was likely filled with handsome men. "Wouldn't you, little brother?"

Kengo stared at Mayu like she was crazy and also looked a bit doubtful. "Nee-chan, I'm a guy."

"That doesn't mean anything. I bet you could pull off disguising yourself as a woman if you had to." Akira teased, messing with his friend some more.

"I'm sure both men and women all over the world would love to be the attraction of James Bond." Master made an appearance in the living room and added to Akira's statement, carrying two bowls of popcorn. "Would you guys like popcorn?"

"Yes, please!" Kengo pleaded, taking a bowl from Master and holding it in his lap.

"Hey, don't hog it." Akira scolded, reaching down in front of him and stealing the popcorn from Kengo, only to place it on his own lap instead. "Haruka, want some?"

The boy saw the bowl gestured out to him and he took a few pieces of popcorn, putting them in his mouth. Listening to Kengo complain to Akira about being a bully and Akira ignore the blonde with his usual attitude, Haruka, for the umpteenth time since being here, realized how much he loved his friends.

Barely around an hour into the movie, Kengo had fallen asleep. He was leaning back against Akira's jean-clad legs and his mouth was open, snoring quietly with a trail of drool sliding down his chin. The brunette teenager was too lazy to shove Kengo off and didn't necessarily mind being rested on, considering that Haruka was already resting his head on his shoulder.

_For some reason, I'm not that interested in the movie right now._ Haruka commented mentally, continuing to let his head sit on the young Shin's broad shoulder and momentarily trying to pull his stupidly small shorts down to cover some of his legs. _Should I tell Akira?_

It appeared that Akira felt the same way Haruka did and he yawned, directing his gaze to the graduate beside him. "Haruka, want to go do something else?"

"Alright." Haruka said immediately, needing no further encouragement.

Akira and Haruka got off the couch together, Akira being careful in the process to not disturb Kengo's slumber, and made their way out of the living room. Shirogane, Mayu, and Aya were completely wrapped up in the movie, so they didn't pay attention to the boys leaving. Master heard their agreement and the shuffling of them departing, but didn't say anything and let them go do whatever it was they wanted, returning to the film.

~OoOoO~

Sighing as he landed roughly without a care in the world on his back on the bed, Akira lifted his arms to put them behind his head and got into a relaxed position. He crossed one leg over the other and stared up at the white ceiling of his room. "Mayu was unexpectedly quiet during the movie. I expected her to squeal like a three-year-old each time James Bond came on screen."

Haruka laughed at Akira's remark, turning his eyes down and placing a hand on the older boy's desk where he stood. His eyes scanned over a sheet of paper, identifying it had to do with school. It was a test or a homework assignment. Unsurprisingly, the paper only had Akira's name written at the top and the date. Haruka knew that his companion tended to get lazy with school work and often needed Aya to set him straight, or at least make a bet that he couldn't afford to lose.

"Haruka, why are you just standing there?" Akira sat up and ran a hand through his scruffy hair, coming back with a piece of lint. Looking at the lint in slight disgust for a second, wondering where it came from, he flicked it away and began speaking again, "You don't need to be such a stranger. Come sit down."

Haruka watched the teen pat a spot on the bed next to him and the younger boy obeyed. He walked over, sitting himself down carefully. Honestly, it felt a little weird for him to sit on Akira's bed. Haruka hadn't been in the Shin's room that many times before, excluding the recent times he spent the night sleeping in it, so he didn't feel like he could just act as if the room was his to share, sort of how most close friends might do.

Thinking about it, was Haruka even a close friend of Akira's?

The kid never really gave that any thought. Surely Kengo was Akira's best friend, yet you're allowed to have more than one best friend, right? Aya was like Akira's best friend, as well. Kou's obviously very close, too. But, what about Haruka? He had to have knocked himself down a couple of pegs from what he did to Akira by betraying him. It would only make sense that he'd have to work at rebuilding their friendship as strong as it once was and earn the right to be close to him.

The memory of Akira's first visit to the Kujo family mansion after the battle with the gardeners, Kyou and Rin, flashed into the pre-teen's mind.

~Flashback~

"_It's not a coincidence that you and I met each other! It's fate!" Haruka said, a distressed look on his face and seeming as if he was about to cry. _

_Akira watched Haruka for a few seconds and then scoffed, replying, "I guess there's no other choice."_

"_Akira." Haruka murmured his name with slight surprise. _

"_Don't get the wrong idea," Akira explained before Haruka could go any further, "It's impossible to let you fight those kokuchis."_

"_Eh?" The boy questioned, a bit disappointed._

"_But, we can still be friends." Akira's eye lids closed, covering his smoky grey eyes, and a faint smile graced his lips._

_The teenager held out his hand to Haruka in a friendly gesture and the graduate let out a surprised sound, backing away, completely confused. _

_Reaching his small hand out shyly in response, Haruka clasped Akira's larger one. A genuine smile came onto Haruka's face and his eyes lit up, saying Akira's name quietly. _

"_Akira."_

~End flashback~

That was Haruka's first experience which made him actually feel accepted and welcomed into part of a "family". He had always seen their group as a family and he was proud to be a part of it. Was he really considered a part of this family after everything, though? Or, had he gone too far and would need to seriously put effort into becoming a part of it again? After all, wasn't he technically the cause that broke their family apart in the first place?

"Hello? Earth to the rich kid."

Haruka returned to reality once he heard Akira talking to him and turned his head quickly. "What is it?" He inquired, looking at his older companion confusedly.

"You were a million miles away, Haruka." Akira told him, almost smirking at the younger's perplexed expression. "What were you thinking about?"

"It was nothing important." The graduate's gaze drifted off, touching the loop of his earring gently. "Random thoughts for the most part."

"Were they about Kou-nii?"

Oh, he should have seen that one coming. Ever since Akira learned of their relationship, he took the opportunity each time it was given to him and teased Haruka with all he could. Haruka wasn't mad at Akira's teasing when it began, however it did continuously embarrass him greatly. Haruka figured that the upside would be having the chance to return the teasing when Akira and Shirogane finally made their relationship known. He technically didn't know if they really were dating, but he was absolutely sure of it.

"No, I wasn't thinking about him." Haruka denied, however, even though it was the truth, it didn't convince Akira.

"Don't lie, Haruka."

"I'm not. I really wasn't thinking about him."

"You so were."

"No."

"Yes."

"I swear that I wasn't."

"Really? You really mean it?"

"Yes, I really mean it."

"I don't believe you."

The boy couldn't help himself from sending a childish glare at the other. Akira's eyes widened incredulously and his mouth dropped open.

"Did you _glare_ at me?" Akira asked, bewildered. "You? Haruka? You glared at me? No way. Whoa. I didn't think I'd ever see the day."

The elder's round of chuckles caused Haruka to smile, even though he was annoyed by the teasing. He wasn't able to stay mad at Akira forever, anyway.

"It's good to see that you're comfortable." The partly grinning teenager said as he leaned back against the fluffy pillows on his bed. Once he laid down, his smiling expression became more serious. "Hey, Haruka. I don't know if it's the right time to mention this, but please resist from dwelling on what I'm going to say. I'm bored and tired, so what I say will most likely be pretty corny."

"Um, okay." Haruka agreed, now listening intently and his eyes focused on Akira's calm face, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"I haven't gotten the chance to say this yet, and I'm not great with words or expressing my feelings, but," Akira shifted his eyes to the side to see Haruka, admitting softly, "I'm glad to have you back."

Haruka's breathing seemed to immediately stop for a moment and the sentence slowly sunk in, processing it. He wasn't prepared for this. Akira did miss him? The answer to that nagging question he constantly asked himself was finally received and he felt an incredibly heavy weight lifted off his shoulders. He felt relieved, yet he also didn't know what to do with how elated those words just made him feel.

It may have normally been a trivial thing to be joyed over, but not to Haruka. Not to someone in his situation. After the few months of deep anxiousness while living in England, fearing, and even having nightmares about it, that he wouldn't be forgiven by the friends he had come to love so dearly, hearing that simple confession was enough to give him hope. It gave him hope that maybe he _was_ as loved and appreciated as he was told and that he could be completely forgiven one day. He had no idea how much he needed to hear that sentence said to him.

"Oh, shit. I made you cry." Akira blurted out in surprise, bolting up right and completely shocked when he saw a tear roll down Haruka's cheek. His eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed, he looked at the younger with worry. "Haruka, why are you crying?"

Bringing a hand up to cover his mouth, Haruka turned his head away, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry. I don't want to cry. I've already done it so much during the whole time I've been here."

"But, why?" The older boy questioned, attempting to figure out why mere words had gotten Haruka this upset. "Was it me? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's not that. You definitely didn't say anything wrong, Akira. In fact, you…you said one of the things I've desperately needed to hear." Haruka managed to bring his gaze to Akira, sending him a tearful smile.

His puzzled look fading, Akira's eyes softened as he had a realization. Sighing lightly, he remarked, "I never fully knew why you've been so emotional lately, but I think I get it now. I guess I was stupid and wasn't paying enough attention to notice how much being back with us really means to you."

Haruka felt his friend grasp his hand, prying it away from shielding his face. Their eyes met and he was amazed by the serene expression that Akira had. He looked actually happy, which was definitely a first. Haruka couldn't even exchange words at the moment, too focused on what Akira was going to say.

"Despite what happened before, you're my friend, Haruka. You always have been and you always will be." Akira said his words somewhat sternly, wanting to make sure that Haruka didn't doubt him. "I don't care about what happened anymore, it's behind me. While it did leave some scars and it was hard to get past at the beginning, I've got bigger issues to deal with now. What really matters is the present, not the past. You're back with us and we're happy about that. You shouldn't be worrying, okay? You're my friend." He squeezed the youth's hand a little and looked directly at Haruka as he told him, "Don't forget that."

Smiling widely and giggling breathlessly, Haruka wiped away the falling tears off his flushed cheeks. Nodding in agreement, his voice trembled, "I promise that I won't forget. I won't ever forget."

"Oh, what the―you're still crying." Akira scolded when he saw more tears run down the boy's face, acting as if he was irritated by the child's emotions. "You sure are full of tears today, aren't you?"

"These are happy tears this time, though." Haruka replied, sniffling.

"Tears are still tears." Sighing, the teenager shook his head. "What am I going to do with you since you've turned into such a sap?"

Haruka laughed in amusement, smiling up at Akira. He may have acted angry, but Haruka knew Akira wasn't actually mad. He expressed himself in that way to show he cared by scolding his friends.

"Be grateful because I'm going to let you do something I never do."

"Huh?" Haruka murmured to the sudden, confusing statement.

Clearing his throat, the Shin glanced down at Haruka next to him and exhaled. He flatly ordered, "Hug me."

Blinking, Haruka stared at Akira. "What?"

"Do it. Hug me."

"But-"

"Do it before I change my mind."

The boy decided not to waste this rare occasion and, without hesitation, leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Akira's neck carefully.

Neither of them could really believe it. They were hugging.

If their memories were correct, they had hugged only once. Haruka's first hug with Akira was during the battle with Homurabi and that had technically been Ryuko. Their first actual hug was when Haruka started sobbing and laid on Akira's chest, having the elder put an arm around his back in a consoling gesture. That was another memory Haruka couldn't forget, and didn't want to either.

Oddly, Akira had the urge to return the hug. For once, he ignored the part of his mind that normally rejected any kind of affection and dropped his tough guard, embracing the pre-teen in his arms. Haruka sighed happily, incredibly glad to have Akira hug him.

It wasn't awkward, embarrassing, or wrong. The hug they shared felt natural. It felt like it was something they both needed to do for a long time. They both needed to have someone there, to have someone they knew they could confide in and get support from. Someone who could forgive all that had happened.

"Akira, I also haven't gotten to say it yet, but I want to tell you something."

"Go ahead, spit it out."

"Thank you for everything, Akira. For the time you faced Homurabi to save me, forgiving me, staying by my side, and letting me come back. Most importantly, thank you for being my best friend."

He wanted to jokingly tell Haruka he was too emotional and shrug off the confession with "Don't be stupid" or just lightly smack the graduate on his head. But he couldn't bring himself to. What Haruka said affected him more than he thought it would and he felt genuinely glad that his companion was grateful to him. The words that he said next turned out to be one of the kindest things he had ever said to Haruka.

"You're welcome." Akira spoke softly, squeezing Haruka a tad bit tighter.

The boy refused to let himself cry again at what the elder said, but tears filled his vision and he simply tried to show his thanks by hugging Akira harder. His voice cracked a little, mumbling, "Akira."

"Hey, hey. I thought I told you not to cry." The Shin reminded him, patting Haruka on his back. He felt the graduate nuzzle his neck and move closer, making him start to feel embarrassed. "You're getting clingy, Haruka."

"I know. I'm sorry." Haruka apologized, keeping his arms looped around Akira's neck as he pulled away from their hug. He blinked the tears out of his eyes and he smiled at the other, thanking him a final time, "Thank you, Akira. Is there, um, anything I can do to show my thanks?"

"Not kissing me, that's for sure." Akira joked, lifting his hands to the boy's forearms and prying them off. He smirked slightly, replying, "Just stop crying so much, alright? We want you to be happy and I know that Kou-nii really wants to see you smile more."

Haruka was briefly surprised at the comment, but it didn't take long until he smiled contently, looking down at the blankets. "Yeah, I know. Onii-chan has been trying really hard to make me smile and laugh, which I do think is sweet of him. I shouldn't have to make him work so hard."

Leaning back on his hands, Akira watched Haruka before chuckling faintly. He closed his eyes and swung his legs over the bed, pushing himself to stand while he said, "Well, I'm sure you can return the favor and make him grin like a dumbass by showing off your new outfit."

Haruka rolled his eyes and he followed the teenage Shin's action, getting off the bed. Straightening his frilly shirt after standing, the graduate remarked, "I'm already fearing what his response to my outfit might be when he joins us later. I just hope he refrains from squeezing the life out of me with hugs."

"You keep your hopes up, Haruka." Akira replied, kindly opening his bedroom door for them and looking back at the younger with an amused expression. "I say to be hopeful while you can since luck hasn't seemed to be on your side that much today. At least not in terms of being embarrassed."

Haruka laughed in response, despite slowly realizing that what Akira said was actually probably very true. Nevertheless, he had learned to deal with his companions and had survived their antics this far. He could surely handle whatever they threw at him.

~OoOoO~

To put it simply, Kou was anxious. More accurately, he was a nervous wreck. A complete anxious, nervous wreck who debated whether or not he could lose everything from making one phone call.

He had finally decided, despite his fears, that he would call Haruka's butler, the person who had dedicated himself to protecting the graduate, and confess how his feelings for the boy went deeper than friendship. He wanted to tell Hikojuuro exactly what their relationship was and that he loved Haruka. It was impossible to keep the intimate bond between them a secret from the butler forever and Kou thought that it was unfair to hide important information from him. He admired the older gentlemen; he greatly respected and acknowledged that Hikojuuro was an important part of Haruka's life, if not the most important.

"Oh, God." Kou muttered in distress, pacing back and forth in his dimly lit bedroom. The Rei had returned from his job earlier than he expected and stopped by his home for a bit before heading over to join his companions. That was when the idea came to him to call the butler, figuring he should do it since he was alone. Now he was worried that this wasn't a good plan.

"How the hell am I supposed to tell him that I'm in love with the magnificent kid under his care that he's been protecting for so many years and practically raised? How am I even supposed to tell him that we're dating and have had sex already?" Kou stopped his pacing abruptly right then, grimacing. "Yeah, let's not mention that I made love to Haru."

Sighing loudly, Kou turned around and sat down on the edge of his bed. He hung his head and clasped his hands together, impatiently tapping his foot. Retrieving his cellphone from the pocket of his jeans, Kou held it in front of him and merely stared at the cover for a couple of seconds.

Pressing the phone to his lips, he closed his eyes and tried to encourage himself, "You know this is the right thing to do. He deserves to be aware of what's going on and Haru can't keep helping you hide things. If you want what's best for Haru, you'll tell the truth. No matter how bad the result may be."

The Rei opened his eyes again and he pulled the phone away from his face, inhaling slowly. He exhaled and used all the determination he had and flipped open the cover of his cellphone, deliberately dialing Hikojuuro's number. Holding the phone up to his ear, Kou heard the dull ringing sound as he anxiously waited for an answer. His heart was racing and he couldn't stand how nervous he felt, but he was not going to back down. Not now. Not if he wanted to stay with the beautiful, intelligent boy that he loved dearly.

* * *

><p><strong>*grabs a shield and my Sting replica from The Hobbit* Oh my god please don't kill me for ending on a cliffhanger I beg you agh! I hate to end it there, but I really want Kou's long and important talk with Hikojuuro to be in the next chapter and not just squeezed in at the end of this super long one. I did make this chapter extra long, so that kind of excuses the cliffhanger, yeah? No, no. I'm awful for doing a cliffhanger. -_-<strong>

**That aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it! I was ecstatic when I finally came up with a conclusion and broke free from the writer's block. Over 7,000 words total, goddamn. Quite the accomplishment, if I do say so myself. Oh! That's right, there's something about Haruka I want to mention real quick. Over the course of this story not being updated, I've recently discovered more stuff regarding our precious Shota. Some of you may or may not have heard of the Monochrome Factor Cross Road game that game out shortly after the anime. It was very stupid and ridiculous. But, one of the few good things that came from it was Haruka getting more background information. He was given an official birthday, an official height, an official blood type, an official constellation sign, etcetera. His birthday is November eighth and I realized that he would technically be twelve in this story by now. Since I didn't learn any of this before writing my story and getting nine chapters in, I probably won't put that into effect. If I decide to at some point, it will be addressed. But, he will stay being close to twelve for now. Just wanted to inform you guys. *whispers* Also, Haruka's official height is 4'6" and he is proven to be a total shorty, which is the cutest thing asdfghjkl;**

**Okay, being a bit more serious. But when am I really? I am going to strive to have the next chapter posted as soon as I can, however even then it could be a while. School has consumed my life and I'm trying hard to stay on top of things this semester. Hopefully I'll have a lot of time to focus on stories when Winter Break starts. I am always working on my many stories, even if it's just adding one new sentence a day or rephrasing things. Gosh, I have way too many ongoing stories. I shouldn't have done this to myself. Brain, why do you keep spouting out new ideas constantly? I can't keep up with you and I need to focus on one thing at a time! D: So many ideas, so little time.**

**As always, you guys are allowed to message me with any questions you have. Scenes you would like to see? Sure thing! Suggestions on what could happen later or what could be improved? You betcha! Just want to say hi? Go right ahead! Please don't ever be afraid or hesitant to approach me. I love getting messages and talking to new people about my stories or even bonding over shared interests. I promise not to bite and you're much more likely to get hugs and kisses from me instead. Until next time, you lovely people! Ciao!**


	13. Author's Note 3

Holy cannolis, would you look at who has finally shown her face around here again after a ridiculously long amount of time? I don't even know where to begin, but I want to keep this relatively simple and sweet, so let's start with why I've been gone.

I'm going to be honest and say that the biggest reason why I haven't updated any of my stories in nearly a year is because of school and lack of motivation. That's always been one reason for why I take forever to work on my stories, but a recent development in August of 2014 is the primary reason this time. My computer was stolen. Back in August-September, my family and I were in the process of moving into a new apartment. Our moving truck got stolen one night and we lost a lot of possessions, along with my computer. I was completely devastated and felt like I had lost a part of me. I know how silly it sounds to be so attached to a computer, but it truly was my life. Everything of mine was on there; countless photos, stories, art, etcetera. After helpful and encouraging words from my family, I wasn't as heartbroken. I was reminded that stories can be re-written, even made better the second time around, and that I could start fresh.

I have. I've started fresh. My rarely used laptop wasn't stolen and it's what I'm using now. I've remade all of my icons and gathered tons of new photos and gifs; I really have started over. Unfortunately, every single one of my fan fics were on the computer that was stolen, including the chapters to this one. However, I was so relieved and excited when I found out that a few copies of my stories had been saved on the other computer that my school lent me for homework and such things. It probably sounds like I had a copious amount of computers, but, trust me, it was just three. XD I moved them to the laptop and I feel so happy to know that I managed to salvage at least a few works-in-progress.

Despite leaving you guys without an update for so long, I still really, _really_ do want to continue this. Writing fan fiction is definitely not my main priority and I'm well aware of how terrible I am with being consistent in updating my stories, but I hate the idea of abandoning them. I don't want to leave these works unfinished and left in the dust, especially when I know that so many people enjoy reading them. Your enjoyment of my writing is what makes me want to continue and, even if it doesn't seem like it, I really did put so much effort and thought into my stories when I first started them. It's incredibly sad that I can't experience the same joy that I felt when I first began writing fan fiction and I wish I could be as enthusiastic as I used to be, but it's hard. I started taking college classes back in August and I just turned 18 in January; I'm getting more responsibilities in my life.

So, yes, fan fics are not my priority, but I still enjoy writing. I've always adored writing and it's a great outlet for me. I can't give you a specific time when my stories will continue, but I'm going to try my darnedest to update. I seriously am, I really do want to slowly start getting back into the swing of writing and adding more to these stories. I want them to have closure, I want the opportunity to better my writing, and I want you guys to be able to enjoy them with me.

I know this isn't much of an apology and I should have posted this far earlier, but I just want to thank you guys so much. Even to those who aren't here anymore and gave up on waiting for me because it's been so long. Thank you to everyone who has read my stories over the years and encouraged me, helped me better my writing. Thank you to those who I never spoke to, but who were an avid reader of my stories and enjoyed them. Just, thank you so much for sticking with me and making this such an amazing, fun journey. I really hope that the journey continues, even if it's like we're taking a romp through a field of honey with how slow I am. XD

One thing I can say is that my writing has definitely improved somewhat since I was last here. I've completely gotten a grasp on writing for little Haruka Kujo, and recently I've been getting back into writing for the flirtatious douchenugget, Kou, as well. I might actually post the short drabble I wrote for them, but we'll see. ^-^ Anyways! I've been rambling way too much and have said all I wanted to say, so I'm going to stop here. But, yep! This is me saying that I'm going to make an effort into updating and posting stories again. I really will try, and I hope that you guys look forward to something new from me, whatever that may be. Until next time, lovelies! I hope that you have a beautiful day and please feel free to message me if you have questions or simply want to chat! Bye, bye!


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